Just weeks since staff and volunteers at Attenborough Nature Reserve were left angry and frustrated following a break-in that left Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust facing a bill of up to £10,000 – the charity wishes to issue a heartfelt thank you following the outpouring of goodwill and a series of generous donations.
The Trust, which is currently celebrating its 60th Anniversary, was heartened by the number of messages of support received after the break in and the generosity of donors.
The level of support from the public in terms of messages of goodwill and offers of help after the break-in was very welcome and much appreciated by the staff and volunteers.Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust
Speaking about the response to the break in on Monday 19th February, Head of Communications Erin McDaid said: “The level of support from the public in terms of messages of goodwill and offers of help after the break-in was very welcome and much appreciated by the staff and volunteers. Thanks to generous donations from individuals, and support from Nottinghamshire County Councillors Eric Kerry and Richard Jackson local infrastructure specialist McCanns Ltd and Marshall Industrial Supplies Ltd, we’ve been able to repair the damage and our Nature Recovery Team once again has the tools needed to care for our nature reserves across the south of the county.”
The Trust received a number of donations towards the costs resulting from the break-in as well as some offers of tools. Cllr Kerry & Cllr Jackson each donated £1,000 from Divisional Fund and McCanns and Marshall Industrial Supplies have ensured that the Trust has the tools it requires to manage the reserve and others across the south of the county including Bunny Old Wood (West) and Skylarks Nature Reserve at Holme Pierrepont.
Speaking about the donation made to Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, McCann’s Plant and Fleet Manager, Paul King, said, “When we heard about the theft, we felt compelled to get involved.”
Martin Albone, Director from Marshall Industrial Suppliers added “Unfortunately 40-50% of our power tool sales are to replace stolen trades persons equipment so we are only too aware of the issues faced by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust.’’
We owe it to the team to ensure that they can continue to deliver their important work, so we’re delighted to be able to replace the vital tools that were taken and offer our support to a fabulous local charity.McCann
Left to right are Ben Feltham, Head of Compliance at McCann, Emily Patrick, Partnerships and Trusts Manager at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and Jenna Holmes, Pre-Construction Manager at McCann.
Ben Feltham, Head of Compliance at McCann’s added: “Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has been protecting local wildlife and habitats for over sixty years and without its dedicated team, a lot of what we see around us when we're exploring our local county would struggle to exist. We owe it to the team to ensure that they can continue to deliver their important work, so we’re delighted to be able to replace the vital tools that were taken and offer our support to a fabulous local charity.”
Whilst the Trust will incur costs due to further improving security and ongoing maintenance, the generosity of donors means the charity no longer has to find the funds to cover the cost of the stolen tools or to repair the catering pod.
Most importantly, the Trust’s Nature Recovery Team once again has the kit it needs to carry out vital habitat management and ensure that our reserves are welcoming for visitors.
Erin added: “As you can imagine, the team were very upset, angry, and frustrated after the break-in, but the messages of support, offers of help and donations have provided a massive boost. We’re fully aware that huge numbers of people care about the reserve and support our work, but it is both humbling and heart warming to see people’s passion for the reserve demonstrated so tangibly.
