FoWW Online Auction 2024
SAVE THE DATE!
Friends of Weston Woods is once again running an online Auction, to raise money to pay off the loan for buying the woods. Only £6,000 to go, so let’s make it a good one!
The auction will run from Thursday 14th November to Sunday 24th November. Please let us have details of any promises or items you are donating to the auction by 31st October, so they can be uploaded to the site.
Ideas of items you could donate to auction – skills you could teach, jobs for others like gardening, car washing or cooking a meal, or perhaps you have a holiday cottage or camper van you would donate for a special weekend, or an electric bike for someone to try it out. Be as creative as you like. Remember to be as specific as possible, and contact us at foww@mant.org.uk if you need help with the wording. Any money raised will go towards paying off the loan.
For more details, visit the Auction page.
Don’t forget to bid for lots on our auction site when it goes live!
Fun Day in the Woods naturally successful!
A great time was had by all, searching for creepy crawlies, identifying trees, building bird nests, playing with sticks and enjoying the quarry, all fueled by homemade cake. Thanks to everyone who came and took part in the Weston Woods Fun Day!
Address of Weston Wood:
- What3Words = cringe.laminate.parent
- Postcode = LS21 2HW
- Grid ref = SE 18468 47053
See below for maps of good routes from Otley.
Litter Picking in Weston Woods – a big success!
There was a good turnout for our first Litterpicking event in Weston Woods on Saturday. Here are some photos of some of the participants, and some pretty fungi!
Stop Press!
We have now completed the purchase, and are the proud owners of Weston Woods!
Fundraising Auction
Thanks to everyone who bid and donated items to the Fundraising Auction – it has raised over £3000 to help pay off the loan we have on the Woods!
Please watch this space for the next fundraising event, or see above to give a donation in the meantime!
If you are interested in getting involved in managing the woods, please contact foww@mant.org.uk or info@mant.org.uk.
Update on the acquisition process
The woods finally became ours on 1st December 2023! We have a bridging loan from Julia Davies (see below) and still have £6000 to repay, so please support our fundraising initiatives.
Any Sponsored Square Certificates bought before the purchase date of 1st December 2023 will initially be valid for a year from that date. We will contact you if you want to renew them from that date. If you would like to sponsor a 3×3 Square(s), for yourself or as an unusual gift, please use the button above.
The Woods
East Wood, Weston, near Otley (known locally as Weston Woods) is nearly 20 acres of mature mixed deciduous woodland, alive with wildlife including red kites, goldcrests, tree creepers, warblers, woodpeckers and tawny owls. Oak, birch, beech, elder and sycamore are underlain by bluebells, wild garlic, brambles and other woodland flowers.
Over 1500 people have supported the acquisition with donations so far, and from the comments left on the fundraising site it is clear that this area of woodland is beloved by a large number of people. Some children have even donated their pocket money. It is valued for the memories of playing there as children, the peace people find there, but also as a place where nature thrives. There is a growing understanding that mature woodlands like these are not only vital for the wonderful habitats they provide, but also play a really important part in holding and soaking up carbon, preventing the carbon dioxide adding to global warming.
The wood is being purchased in Spring 2023 by MANT as part of the Friends of Otley East Wood which is a collaboration with a number of local environmental and community groups including Otley 2030, Wildlife Friendly Otley, Wharfedale Naturalists, Addingham Environment Group, Climate Action Ilkley, Climate Action Menston, Protect Earth & Woodland Savers.
If you would like to sponsor a 3x3m square of the wood for a year, please visit the Sponsor Squares page.
Acquisition of this site was made possible by a philanthropic loan from Julia Davies, through her Funding Nature Project.
Julia is an environmental campaigner, lawyer, philanthropist and ‘green innovation’ investor who uses her personal funds to enable charitable projects (including land acquisitions for nature restoration) to progress. She is kindly supporting our acquisition on the understanding that we will do all we can to reduce the loan from her needed at completion and then to pay back any loan she does provide as a priority. We can’t progress work on the site until the loan is repaid. Equally Julia can’t support the many projects which contact her weekly until her commitment to this project is substantially reduced.
We plan to hold Weston Woods (aka East Wood) for the community and nature, in perpetuity. In the short term, there will be some essential administrative and legal costs, managed by experienced civic sector leadership, and a portion of excess funds raised will be used to cover these. Any surplus raised would be used for ongoing woodland management projects at Weston Woods which may include improving pathways, removing invasive species, repairing dry stone walls, enhancing biodiversity (e.g. through coppicing, planting etc), welcome/information signs and tree management for public safety.
Please note that MANT gets more of your donation if you use Bank Transfer!
If you prefer to pay by cheque please make it out to “Menston Area Nature Trust” and send it to MANT, Willow Dene, Bradford Road, Menston, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, LS29 6ED.
If you would like to be kept up to date with events at the woods, please sign up to the email list (it is free) here.