01/08/2007 05:08:15
A Cambridgeshire environmental project has won the largest grant of lottery money yet for a natural project in England.
The Great Fen Project will receive an award of £8.9 million for the purchase of land around two existing National Nature Reserves. The land will help to link Holme Fen with Woodwalton Fen, with the aim of creating a 3,700 hectare wetland between Huntingdon and Peterborough.
BBC News reports that the money, awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, will buy almost half of the land needed.
Responding to the news, actor Stephen Fry, president of the Great Fen Campaign, said: “I'm so thrilled at this news.
“The Heritage Lottery Fund has recognised the enormous value of the Great Fen Project and its unique, pioneering approach to this precious, delicate and beautiful landscape.”
Michael Allen, chair of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, added: “As nature gently begins to reassert itself in the area, new opportunities will be created for visitors to engage with the returning wildlife and to reconnect with the fenland landscape.”