Celebrating its 10th anniversary in May 2009, the Wicken Fen Vision is a 100-year project by the National Trust to create a landscape-scale nature reserve and green lung for Cambridgeshire and the East of England, covering 53sqkm, from the existing Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve to the outskirts of Cambridge.
The Vision will see the re-creation of a mosaic of fenland habitats to help protect and conserve endangered species of wildlife whilst providing a vast area for public access for leisure, relaxation, exercise and education.
Wicken Fen is the National Trust’s oldest and the most species-rich nature reserve in Britain, home to over 8,000 species of wildlife.
Today Wicken Fen sits surrounded like an ‘island in a sea of intensive agriculture’ and towards the end of the 20th century it was evident that the long-term future of the reserve and the many rare and endangered species it supports was in serious doubt.
The ambitious and foresighted solution adopted by the National Trust was to create a landscape-scale nature reserve by acquiring agricultural land for nature conservation.
© National Trust
During the last decade over 400ha of land has been purchased and the process has begun of returning this land to natural fenland habitats with new access for visitors.
To date, over £5 million has been raised from private donations, charitable trusts, Government and European grants and lottery funding. Extensive consultation has been held with local communities, users, elected representatives and statutory authorities throughout the development and implementation of the Vision.
Commenting on the 10th anniversary of the Vision, National Trust Director General Dame Fiona Reynolds said:
'The Wicken Fen Vision is the most ambitious and far reaching project undertaken by the Trust in modern times. It is a fantastic example of the Trust and our volunteers working with local communities and government at every level to create a unique place that will be enjoyed by the public for generations to come.'
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