The Rutland Osprey Project, a partnership between the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust and Anglian Water, has received a significant boost with the presentation of £5,000 from the Martin Lawrence Memorial Trust.
The cheque was presented by Tricia Lawrence who set-up the Trust in memory of her husband, Martin, who sadly died from Motor Neurone Disease last year. The Trust aims to support projects in Africa and the UK close to Martin’s heart. Before his illness Martin was a daily visitor to the birdwatching hides at Rutland Water Nature Reserve and the money is being used to provide children’s learning resources at the newly refurbished osprey hide.
Tricia, who also unveiled a permanent memorial to Martin in the new hide, said, “My family is so pleased to have this memorial to Martin in a place he loved to visit each morning. My fellow trustees were unanimous in deciding to support the Rutland Osprey Project so children both here in the UK and Africa can follow the ospreys’ journey and increase their knowledge of birds and the natural world.”
Tim Mackrill from the Trust said, “We are incredibly grateful to Tricia and everyone at the Martin Lawrence Memorial Trust for their generous donation. We have already used part of the money to install new high definition cameras on the Manton Bay osprey nest. These images are streamed live onto the Project’s website and also to a screen in the hide which is funded by the Trust. We plan to use the remainder of the money to produce a children’s book about ospreys.
“Martin became a very good friend of the Project and we are delighted that we have a permanent memorial to him. We hope that the new hide will allow thousands of people to enjoy seeing the ospreys, just as he did.”
The hide, which has been funded primarily through a grant from The Caterpillar Foundation, is open daily from 6am – 8pm.
For more information log on to www.ospreys.org.uk and www.themartinlawrencememorialtrust.org
Photograph: Tricia Lawrence (left) with son Stephen, daughter Susannah presenting the cheque to Tim Mackrill and Paul Stammers from the Rutland Osprey Project.
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