Landscapes for Life - Conference 2013 - East of England. 16th - 18th July 2013

1. AONB Conference
Ipswich 18 July 2013

2. Who are we?
 A charitable trust formed in 2012
 Part of Rivers Trust movement
 Now 442 members in 5 local groups with local
co-ordinators running local projects
 Growing by 20 members a month – soon 500

3. Who does what?
 7 charity trustees manage assets and finances
including fundraising. Includes property leases
and searching for riparian pockets to improve
public access to the Waveney.
 Members Association manages projects and
working parties via local groups.

4. What have we done?
 River clean up
 Habitat improvements
 Rush harvesting project
 Maintaining and improving pocket parks with local
parishes
 Acquired old Otter Trust site – repurposing as River
Waveney Study Centre
 Started catchment plan for Waveney- the serious stuff!

5. Lots of work to be done
 Keep river clean of litter.
 Reduce high phosphate levels (farms & residents).
 Reduce diffuse pollution (farms and roads).
 Eradicate invasive species (flora & fauna).
 Improve geomorphology (flows, riffles etc.).
 Eel reintroduction.
 Better habitats for all esp. inverts and fish.
 Educate and inform.
And enjoy!

6. The essentials of public
engagement
AIDA
Awareness
Interest
Decision
Action

7. Volunteering
 The “please and thank you” industry
 Localism really matters – we all love our local
community and environs
 Tell it like it is – honesty & realism
 Manage professionally
 Appeal to the citizen scientist

8. And finally…..
 Challenge the incumbent authorities; they are in real
need of community actors right now and Gov policy is
moving in favour of community groups:
Passion and Practicality versus Policy and Process
 Use Community Right to Bid legislation (2011)
 Become the Eyes & Ears of the locality
Enjoy!
We do!