£5,000 WHCT grant helps Norfolk habitat restoration

The Wildlife Habitat Charitable Trust (WHCT) has awarded a grant of £5,384 to Heacham and north west Norfolk Wildfowlers to assist with habitat restoration and improvement work on Heacham Marsh within the Snettisham Coastal Park.

The money will allow the club to continue clearing waterways of overgrown reeds and brambles while improving access for ongoing maintenance and upkeep.

The club hopes to provide a wide range of duck species with nesting opportunities by installing nest boxes and tubes and in opening up the space hopes to encourage bog plants to flourish.

Marsh warden Darren Whitmore said: “I would like to thank the WHCT for the grant towards the work at Snettisham and Heacham Marsh to encourage both non-quarry species to the water and help preserve our habitats for wildfowling. Once again thank you BASC and the WHCT for your support.”

This is the third time the WHCT has assisted this project, having granted the club £2,500 in 2013 and £2,850 in 2014.

Paul Williamson, BASC’s head of land management and secretary to the WHCT, said: “The WHCT trustees are pleased to once again provide grant support to the Heacham and north west Norfolk Wildfowlers as they continue their habitat restoration work.

“The club’s commitment to conserving and managing the area will not only encourage nesting wildfowl species but will help the wider eco-system. It is rewarding to see the progression of this project, demonstrating how the WHCT grants can benefit shooting and conservation. We commend the club for their efforts and wish them every success in the future.”

The Wildlife Habitat Charitable Trust welcomes both national and international grant applications and is keen to support projects which target the conservation of known breeding habitats of the UK’s migratory species.

Established in 1986 by members of the UK’s largest shooting organisation, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), to date the WHCT has awarded grants of over £200,000.

ENDS