Wild Ouseburn Secures £80,000 to Rewild Newcastle’s Lower Ouseburn Valley

20th October 2025

Urban rewilding is thriving in Newcastle. The Wild Ouseburn project has been awarded over £80,000 from the Reece Foundation’s Ouse Burn Way Fund, securing the next three years of nature restoration and rewilding in the Lower Ouseburn Valley.

This funding will help bring wildlife back into the heart of the city – creating richer habitats, connecting communities, and inspiring more people to get involved in protecting their local environment.

Our investment will enable Wild Ouseburn to:

  • Launch a dedicated online platform sharing local wildlife stories, research reports, events, training, and opportunities to volunteer.
  • Support micro-projects that boost biodiversity, such as the City Stadium wildflower meadow and a Sand Martin nesting bank.
  • Engage local volunteers in hands-on rewilding activities across the valley.
  • Fund a new staff member to coordinate restoration work and community outreach.

Together with volunteers, local organisations, and businesses, Wild Ouseburn is helping to make urban Newcastle greener, wilder and more biodiverse.

“Progress following the funding announcement has been incredible. Over the past few weeks, more than 70 local volunteers have rolled up their sleeves to help transform the site – removing turf, raking soil, and shaping the landscape to prepare for planting. Their collective effort is already paying off, with the meadows beginning to take shape and the area showing the first signs of its wild new life.”
— Heather Devey, Co-Director, Wild Intrigue

An annual investment of £10,000 will drive new and dynamic restoration projects across the Lower Ouseburn Valley.

Planned activities for the first year include:

  • Grassland restoration and meadow creation at City Stadium with Newcastle Parks & Allotments.
  • Expansion of the Nest Box Scheme at St Lawrence Park to support House Sparrows.
  • Installation of Schwegler bat roosting boxes, monitored by Northumberland Bat Group.
  • Acoustic bat and bird surveys using advanced wildlife monitoring technology.
  • Community rewilding sessions with Greener Battlefield at St Ann’s Church.
  • Launch of the Ouseburn Bird Club, encouraging local residents to connect with nature.

To keep the community engaged, the project will also run Winter Ouseburn Wild Talks, create new promotional materials and share progress through regular updates.

“This funding acknowledges the huge value of the Ouseburn Wildlife Enhancement Corridor,for both wildlife and people, and the importance of working collaboratively at a landscape scale. Whether volunteering, attending events, or simply following our journey online, everyone can help make the Lower Ouseburn Valley wilder and richer for wildlife.”
— Anne Reece, Chair of the Ouse Burn Way Project Board

The Ouse Burn Way is a seven-mile urban wildlife corridor running from the mouth of the Ouseburn to Weetslade Country Park. It connects communities and habitats across Newcastle, creating a thriving landscape for wildlife and people alike. The vision goes beyond ecology, also improving water quality, supporting mental wellbeing, and helping communities reconnect with the natural world.

The Reece Foundation’s £1 million Ouse Burn Way Fund supports local projects that make this vision a reality, investing in sustainable, community-led nature restoration across the North East.

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