Community-led scheme to enhance wildlife on the Ouseburn
Wildlife funding boost for communities alongside river. Tony Henderson reports.
A three-year community-led project has been launched to protect and enhance wildlife along a major tributary of the River Tyne.
The Natural History Society of Northumbria (NHSN), with support from the Reece Foundation, is behind Wildlife Ways, which focuses on the Ouseburn in Newcastle and which will also improve local green spaces.
The Reece Foundation has awarded NHSN £157,000 of a total project cost of £187,000, which will see Wildlife Ways appoint an Ouseburn ecologist to help connect people and nature along the waterway.
Anne Reece, chair of the Ouseburn Way Project Board and the Reece Foundation, said: “The Ouseburn Way is such a special part of our local environment, and I’m very pleased we can support its future by funding an ecologist. This is an important role that will engage communities, protect wildlife and help nature thrive along this vital corridor.”
Working alongside NHSN urban naturalist Ellie Davison, whose work is also supported by the Reece Foundation, the ecologist will provide communities with advice, coordinate surveys, and support improvements to valued local spaces.
Ellie said: “This exciting project puts communities at the heart of caring for the Ouseburn. It’s about shared action, local pride, and creating lasting benefits for people and wildlife.”
It will see the establishment of a network of Wildlife Ways branching off the Ouseburn Way. These areas will benefit from community-led practical enhancements such as tree and bulb planting, meadows, wildlife gardens, pollinator habitats, hedgehog and bat boxes, and litter picking.
Local people will be encouraged to record wildlife, habitats, litter, and invasive species using digital tools. The data will help inform land management decisions and contribute records to regional and national environmental databases.
Activities such as guided walks and discovery days will bring together residents, volunteers, and businesses.
In total, the project will involve dozens of community groups and local businesses, support hundreds of volunteers, and improve around 30 locations on the Ouseburn Way.
To find out more about Wildlife Ways, email Ellie Davison at UrbanNaturalist@newcastle.ac.uk