PLEASE Save Lower Moss Wood Nature Reserve

Lower Moss Wood has been a thriving 18 acre nature reserve and later also a wildlife hospital for almost 40 years, overseen for most of that time by our Warden and General Manager, Ray Jackson MBE. A fully recognised charity since 1999 we recently celebrated 25 years as a charitable endeavour.

Across decades Ray has delivered classes for over 60,000 children from schools all over our local (and not so local!) region, with regular school visits happening across the spring to autumn months. In addition to this admirable work, after Ray had two fox cubs brought to him for care way back in 1989, the seeds were sown for the opening of an on site Wildlife Hospital. 35 years and three hospital rebuilds later, we take in and care for over 3,000 patients per year, with the sole aim to rehabilitate and release back into the wild.

Ray providing entertainment for a Christmas event

Ray and Shimba the Barn Owl during a class

Our operations are overseen by just three members of permanent staff, supported by a dedicated and wonderful group of volunteers, ensuring all our patients and permanent residents receive the care and shelter that they need, seven days a week and around the clock.

A rare Hen Harrier in need of rescue

Ray Jackson assessing the Hen Harrier which was successfully nurtured and passed onto specialist care

We don't just operate within the beauty of Lower Moss Wood. Our therapy birds of prey regularly go out and visit Care Homes, Hospitals, Schools and those struggling with mental health difficulties.

Owls on display at a local gathering

One of our dedicated Staff teaching a local school about our Barn Owls

WE DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP TO SURVIVE THE WINTER

Since the Covid-19 Pandemic, our usual sources of income have all but dried up, now limping along on the extremely kind and generous donations from regular givers. Higher costs of travel and changes in regulations have resulted in our school visits going from being fully booked during the Spring to Autumn months to perhaps one class a month if we're lucky. Changes to legislation in the handling of medicines and being able to administer anaesthesia to patients has meant a stark increase in veterinary costs while causing a downturn in donations to the hospital due to many casualties needing to be taken to a vet first by the finder, rather than bringing straight to us.

Anything that reduces our patient intake directly impacts our ability to fundraise as we've always benefited from the kindness of people that have had the opportunity to see first hand the great work we do here at Lower Moss Wood. Avian flu meant for a long time we were limited in our capacity to take in birds and waterfowl.

To add to the already huge impact on our funding, energy costs have skyrocketed in the last four years, costing the most during our lowest income period of the winter months. We cannot just shut down for the winter, we have permanent residents to still care for and we often have patients overwintering with us ready to be released the following Spring when conditions improve, so we of course must keep them, our staff, and volunteers warm and comfortable.

This GoFundMe is intended to help cover the running costs (food, heat, light and staff) of the Charity for the next twelve months. A new Board of Trustees was elected in June 2024 and has immediately set about finding ways to cut costs and raise new funds. We've made good headway in this regard, however, being a small charity, progress isn't as quick as we would like and we face the very real danger that we'll run out of money before our efforts to turn the Charity's fortunes around begin to bear fruit.

One of our many stalls at community events throughout the year

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

The Board, Staff and Volunteers have all contributed to the following improvements to help "right the ship":

OUTSTANDING CHALLENGES

While the Board and Staff have been able to make improvements and tread water during our busy months, we now face the stark and horrifying reality that without a major improvement in income, our doors will close in January 2025. This is not an easy admission or appeal to make, nevertheless the loss of the work that Lower Moss Wood does for our local wildlife and community would be catastrophic. Our wildlife and nature need us now more than ever with the threat of climate change looming large. We've been set back by collaborations with other local businesses not seeming to be what they really were on the face of things, forcing us to pass up on revenue opportunities in order to maintain the integrity of the Charity.

We have long term plans and goals, such as improvement of our social media platform and engagement, a new website with community and volunteer benefits, various media projects to give more of an insight into the day to day of Lower Moss Wood, corporate partnerships and sponsorships, even a video game for running your own nature reserve is in the works!

Unfortunately though, these endeavours take time and work to come to fruition and we desperately need your help to make sure we do not run out of time.

Sir Bobby Charlton opening the new Wildlife Hospital, 2015

Volunteer Work Parties help to maintain the Reserve

You can read more about the charity and its history at our website and our Facebook page

Please help us. Please help us save Lower Moss Wood Educational Nature Reserve and Wildlife Hospital and to keep providing a home for our incredible variety of permanent residents that have nowhere else to go, including foxes, owls, buzzards, and corvids such as ravens, crows and magpies.

All We Want for Christmas, is to see Spring.