Earth Trust

Last updated January 05, 2024

Founded in 1967, Earth Trust is an environmental charity (not-for-profit organisation) which was originally known as the Northmoor Trust for Countryside Conservation.^[1] Earth Trust was initially established by the British engineer Sir Martin Wood to promote environmental conservation through land management, education, and land science. It is a registered charity under English law.^[2]

Earth Trust is the owner and manager of the largest freely accessible natural green space landscape in Oxfordshire - Wittenham Clumps: 500 hectares of woodland, farmland, wildflower meadows and wetlands. Earth Trust also care for a growing number of smaller community reserves - special places for both nature and people within urban areas and towns. These places receive 200,000+ visits each year.

As well as managing and promoting accessible natural green spaces, Earth Trust also operate a working farm. Along with their Farm Step tenants, Earth Trust are one of Oxfordshire's mid-sized producers of legumes, grains and wildflowers, beef, Goat's cheese and honey.

Earth Trust have 500 hectares of mixed use farmland, demonstrating the links between environment, wildlife, landscape and growing food. Earth Trust encourages and supports the production, distribution and eating of good quality, local, healthy food. Land management, skills and the means needed to produce and distribute food locally, minimising transport and waste are all important ingredients. Earth Trust continue to explore and develop methods to show that farming practices can be environmentally friendly and economically sustainable.

In 2009, Earth Trust came into a management position of Thrupp Lake, located in Radley.^[3]

In 2014 Earth Trust started managing Abbey Fishponds in Abingdon. Tucked away in a residential area of the town, Abbey Fishponds is a small nature reserve with wetland wildlife. The reserve is around 7ha and completely enclosed by housing.^[4]

The newest Earth Trust building, Earth Lab is a sustainable building.

The ponds and backwaters were developed in 2021 and provide important habitats for wildlife as well as wetlands which help to alleviate floods and absorb carbon.

Earth Trust hosts a programme of events each year, including countryside management courses, taster workshops and family festivals. They are best known for their Lambing Weekends in spring, which were attended by over 8,000 people in 2016.^[5]

Properties

Little Wittenham

Earth Trust Centre – Located at the base of the Wittenham Clumps, the Earth Trust Centre comprises the office, Earth Lab learning centre and Fison Barn, which is hired out for weddings, parties and corporate events.
Earth Lab - Used as the learning environment, Earth Lab also provides a range of spaces for corporate events. Earth Lab features an atrium space, two indoor classrooms and a covered outdoor meeting space.
Wittenham Clumps – The two hilltops of Castle Hill and Round Hill are known to be the two oldest planted hilltop beeches in England, dating back over 300 years. Wittenham Clumps and Little Wittenham Nature Reserve are the most visited free site in Oxfordshire.
Little Wittenham Wood – Located in the area of North Wessex Downs, Little Wittenham Wood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to the large breeding population of Great Crested newts that live in the ponds and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
Broad Arboretum – Planted in 1998, the Broad Arboretum features every species of fauna native to Oxfordshire along with recent introductions such as walnut, sycamore and chestnut.
Neptune Wood – Neptune Wood was planted to honour the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. Thousands of oak trees were planted in this area to replace some of the trees that were used to build the ships. Specifically, Lord Nelson's flagship was made out of approximately 5,000 oak trees, while the 27-ship fleet had used over 50,000 trees.
Paradise Wood – Paradise Wood is a national research woodland that is the largest collection of hardwood timber trials in the country. It consists of around 60,000 hardwood trees.
River of Life^[6]
River of Life 2

Wallingford

Wallingford Castle Meadows - Now in ruins, the castle was known to be one of the greatest medieval castles located in England. In 1066, William the Conqueror and his army crossed into the Thames at Wallingford and ordered the building of the castle. Castle Meadows today is home to important wildlife habitats and is a much-loved community greenspace. Earth Trust manage the site on behalf of South Oxfordshire District Council.
Riverside Meadows - Riverside land located alongside the Thames River in Wallingford. It is considered to be a rare and threatened habitat and Earth Trust is working to restore the wildflower meadows. Riverside Meadows can be enjoyed during the summer months when the meadows are full of oxeye daisy, common knapweed and bird’s-foot trefoil. Earth Trust manage the site on behalf of South Oxfordshire District Council.

Other

Mowbray Fields - Earth Trust manage this local nature reserve in Didcot on behalf of South Oxfordshire District Council. It is home to the common spotted and southern marsh orchids.
Thrupp Lake - Thrupp Lake, part of the Radley Lake complex, is located in the village of Radley on the edge of Abingdon and is a man-made lake owned by RWE npower and managed by Earth Trust. Radley Lakes were the subject of a community campaign to save them from being filled in (2005-8).^[7] In 2015 Earth Trust was awarded the management contract for some of the surrounding former lakes.
Abbey Fishponds - Earth Trust took over the management of this community nature reserve in Abingdon in July 2014.The site is also known as Daisy Bank. Earth Trust manage the site on behalf of Vale of White Horse District Council. The reserve is around 7ha and completely enclosed by housing.

Earth Trust events

Earth Trust host many events throughout the year. The majority are held at their flagship site in Little Wittenham with a small number taking place on the nearby community nature reserves that the charity manages.^[8]

One such notable previous event was the Children's Food Festival, held in 2007 and in 2009 in Oxfordshire.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13] It was fronted by patrons Raymond Blanc and Sophie Grigson, who gave hands-on demos, inviting children to help them chop, stir, smell and taste. Other guests have included Annabel Karmel, Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall (author of The Good Granny Cookbook), Sam Stern (the Teenage Chef), Nora Sands (Jamie's School Dinner Lady) and children's cookery writer Amanda Grant.

Related Research Articles

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is one of 46 local Wildlife Trusts around the UK working to promote and protect local wildlife. It covers the whole of Derbyshire and was founded in 1962 in response to environmental threats to the local countryside, since when it has continued to grow. The trust is now based at East Mill on the River Derwent in the town of Belper, Derbyshire. It is a registered charity, supported by more than 14,000 members and over 500 volunteers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Wood (engineer)</span> British engineer (1927–2021)

Sir Martin Francis Wood, CBE, FRS, HonFREng was a British engineer and entrepreneur. He co-founded Oxford Instruments, one of the first spin-out companies from the University of Oxford and still one of the most successful. He created this business out of his research into magnets, and went on to build the first commercial MRI scanner, an invention that has saved millions of lives throughout the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wittenham Clumps</span> Pair of hills in Berkshire, England

Wittenham Clumps are a pair of wooded chalk hills in the Thames Valley, in the civil parish of Little Wittenham, in the historic county of Berkshire, although since 1974 administered as part of South Oxfordshire district.

Little Wittenham is a village and civil parish on the south bank of the River Thames, northeast of Didcot in South Oxfordshire. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire to the county of Oxfordshire and from Wallingford Rural District to the district of South Oxfordshire.

Northmoor Road is a residential street in North Oxford, England.

London Wildlife Trust (LWT), founded in 1981, is a local nature conservation charity for Greater London. It is one of 46 members of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, each of which is a local nature conservation charity for its area. The Trust aims to protect London's wildlife and wild spaces, and it manages 36 nature reserves in Greater London. The Trust provides education services for schools. Local groups work on reserves and organise walks.

Long Wittenham is a village and small civil parish about 3 miles (5 km) north of Didcot, and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southeast of Abingdon. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it from Berkshire to Oxfordshire, and from the former Wallingford Rural District to the new district of South Oxfordshire.

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Earth Trust Centre is the hub of the Earth Trust Farm at Little Wittenham, at the foot of Wittenham Clumps and includes: the main office; Earth Lab, where education activities take place; Innovation Hub, the newly refurbished barn which is available for corporate space hire; Fison Barn and courtyard, a beautiful venue available to hire for weddings, celebrations and corporate events; and Poem Tree Café, which is only open during Earth Trust's larger festivals and events.

Joseph Tubb (1805–1879) was a maltster from Oxfordshire, England who created the Poem Tree at Wittenham Clumps, which died in the 1990s and finally collapsed in July 2012.

The Poem Tree was a beech tree with a poem carved into it by Joseph Tubb, located on Castle Hill at Wittenham Clumps in Oxfordshire, England. The tree was believed to be around 300 years old, with Tubb's poem being carved in the 1840s. The tree died in the 1990s and rotted completely while standing, before collapsing during a period of inclement weather in July 2012.

Paradise Wood is a research woodland established by the Earth Trust between the villages of Little Wittenham and Long Wittenham in Oxfordshire England. It has evolved to become the largest collection of hardwood forestry trials in Britain.

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Hosehill Lake is a 23.6-hectare (58-acre) Local Nature Reserve west of Reading in Berkshire. It is owned by West Berkshire Council and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

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References

↑ "Northmoor Trust, which looks after Wittenham Clumps, changing its name to Earth Trust". The Oxford Times. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
↑ "NORTHMOOR TRUST FOR COUNTRYSIDE CONSERVATION, registered charity no. 1095057". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
↑ "Alberon Case Study" . Retrieved 22 February 2013.
↑ "Queen's Award for Voluntary Service recipients 2016 - Publications - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
↑ "Earth Trust: Lambing Weekends". www.earthtrust.org.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
↑ "2014 CIEEM Award winners presented with trophies at award ceremony · · CIEEM - Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management". www.cieem.net. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
↑ Fairbairn, Andy. "Radley Lakes - About Friends of Radley Lakes". www.radleylakes.org.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
↑ "Earth Trust: What's on". www.earthtrust.org.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
↑ "Plates of fun at children's food event". Oxford Mail. 25 June 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
↑ "The Children's Food Festival". www.bbc.co.uk. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
↑ "County to stage first children's food festival". Oxford Mail. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
↑ MacAlister, Katherine (26 June 2009). "Fantastic line-up for Children's Food Festival". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
↑ "Food festival back with a tasty menu: Second Oxfordshire Children's Food Festival to be held at Little Wittenham in June". Carrick Herald Series. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2021.

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[1] "Northmoor Trust, which looks after Wittenham Clumps, changing its name to Earth Trust". The Oxford Times. Retrieved 15 December 2011.

[2] "NORTHMOOR TRUST FOR COUNTRYSIDE CONSERVATION, registered charity no. 1095057". Charity Commission for England and Wales.

[3] "Alberon Case Study" . Retrieved 22 February 2013.

[4] "Queen's Award for Voluntary Service recipients 2016 - Publications - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.

[5] "Earth Trust: Lambing Weekends". www.earthtrust.org.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.

[6] "2014 CIEEM Award winners presented with trophies at award ceremony · · CIEEM - Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management". www.cieem.net. Retrieved 2 August 2016.

[7] Fairbairn, Andy. "Radley Lakes - About Friends of Radley Lakes". www.radleylakes.org.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.

[8] "Earth Trust: What's on". www.earthtrust.org.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2016.

[9] "Plates of fun at children's food event". Oxford Mail. 25 June 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2021.

[10] "The Children's Food Festival". www.bbc.co.uk. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 7 August 2021.

[11] "County to stage first children's food festival". Oxford Mail. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2021.

[12] MacAlister, Katherine (26 June 2009). "Fantastic line-up for Children's Food Festival". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 7 August 2021.

[13] "Food festival back with a tasty menu: Second Oxfordshire Children's Food Festival to be held at Little Wittenham in June". Carrick Herald Series. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2021.

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