News
New land purchase - new HLF funding
We are delighted to announce that the LOHP has just purchased another piece of land in the valley, with the help of a new Heritage Lottery Fund award and our Riverlink Appeal. The new land, on Fen Road in Thelnetham, shares boundaries with the LOHP's Parkers Piece, and with Thelnetham Middle Fen nature reserve, adding another important piece of the valley fen jigsaw. In addition to the purchase, the HLF grant will enable us to undertake surveys of the site (at present mostly unmanaged plantation woodland and stinging nettles) before finalising a restoration management plan. There will also be funding for volunteer training, more work with local schools and more editions of the News from the Ouse over the next two years.
Winter sunshine rewards walkers
Thirty people (plus six well-behaved dogs) made the most of a rare fine morning on Sunday 5th January by joining our traditional Winter Walk. This year we started at Redgrave and Lopham Fen, guided by Richard Young, the Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve manager, and walked across the “watershed” from the Waveney to the Little Ouse, taking in the Frith, and on to the Lows in Blo’ Norton.
Annual meeting fills hall!
The Lopham's village hall was packed for our 12th annual meeting on 3rd December. Members and friends enjoyed Dr Nigel Holmes' talk explaining the simple methods he used in the autumn to restore parts of the channel of the river Little Ouse. His examples of the success of similar methods used on other badly-managed river channels were inspiring and hugely encouraging. As ever, the evening was concluded with a wonderful spread of seasonal food and opportunity to catch up with old friends and new news.
Creative art group exhibitions
Two years of hard work by the LOHP Creative Arts Group, finally came together in late October with a series of inspiring exhibitions of visual and performance arts, celebrating the unique landscape, wildlife and history of the Little Ouse headwaters. Launched by Phil Rothwell of the HLF East of England committee, the exhibitions, held at local village halls, attracted many visitors from the local area and further afield. The Creative Arts Project was led by the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and funded as part of the LOHP's Heritage Lottery Fund grant.
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