Founded in 1967, Earth Trust is an environmental charity (not-for-profit organisation) which was originally known as the Northmoor Trust for Countryside Conservation. Earth Trust was initially established by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

engineer Sir Martin Wood to promote environmental conservation through land management, education, and land science. It is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

under English law. Earth Trust is the owner and manager of the largest freely accessible natural green space landscape in Oxfordshire -

Wittenham Clumps 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. The higher of the two ...

: 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 Radley is a village and civil parish about northeast of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfor ...

. 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. 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.

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. *

– 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 The North Wessex Downs are an area of chalk downland landscapes located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The North Wessex Downs has been designated as a National Landscape (formerly known as Area of ...

, 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 A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

and

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

. * Neptune Wood – Neptune Wood was planted to honour the 200th anniversary of the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

. Thousands of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

trees were planted in this area to replace some of the trees that were used to build the ships. Specifically,

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

'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 * River of Life 2

Wallingford

Wallingford Castle Wallingford Castle is a medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire (historically Berkshire), adjacent to the River Thames. Established in the 11th century as a motte-and-bailey design within an Anglo-Saxon ' ...

Meadows - Now in ruins, the castle was known to be one of the greatest medieval castles located in England. In 1066,

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

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 South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

. * Riverside Meadows - Riverside land located alongside the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

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 ''Leucanthemum vulgare'', commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite (, "common marguerite") and other common names, is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions of Asia, and an introduced ...

, common

knapweed ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding ...

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 Didcot ( ) is a railway town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, located south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. Historically part of Berkshire, the town is noted ...

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

on the edge of Abingdon and is a man-made lake owned by

RWE npower npower Business Solutions is a British supplier of gas and electricity to large businesses. It has been a subsidiary of E.ON UK since January 2019. The company was formerly known as Innogy plc and was listed on the London Stock Exchange and wa ...

and managed by Earth Trust. Radley Lakes were the subject of a community campaign to save them from being filled in (2005-8). 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 Vale of White Horse District Council is the local authority for the Vale of White Horse, a non-metropolitan district in the south-west of Oxfordshire, England. History The non-metropolitan district of Vale of White Horse and its council were crea ...

. 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. One such notable previous event was the Children's Food Festival, held in 2007 and in 2009 in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

. It was fronted by patrons

Raymond Blanc Raymond Blanc OBE (born 19 November 1949) is a French chef. Blanc is the chef at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the ''Good Food Guid ...

and

Sophie Grigson Hester Sophia Frances Grigson (born 19 June 1959) is an English cookery writer and celebrity cook. She has followed the same path and career as her mother, Jane Grigson. Her father was the poet and writer Geoffrey Grigson, and her half-brother ...

, who gave hands-on demos, inviting children to help them chop, stir, smell and taste. Other guests have included

Annabel Karmel Annabel Jane Elizabeth Karmel (born 10 May 1957) is the author of books on nutrition and cooking for babies, children and families. Early life Annabel Karmel was born on 10 May 1957. Prior to her career in infant nutrition she was a talen ...

, 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.

References