Royal visitors to Rutland

Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited Rutland Water NR this week, where they learnt all about exciting plans for important new facilities on the 1,000-acre site.

The volunteer training centre project will see an essential new building constructed on the reserve to provide much-needed facilities and training spaces for more than 350 volunteers. As one of the most important wildfowl sanctuaries in Britain, the reserve relies on volunteers to maintain and protect its habitats, helping to secure the future of thousands of species of plants and animals.

After observing wildlife on the reserve, the royal couple attended a reception with staff and volunteers, who explained some of the important work carried out. Staff from the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) then showed Their Royal Highnesses the plans for the new volunteer training centre.

After securing generous funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Anglian Water, the LRWT has launched the Wild Lives at Rutland Water Appeal to raise the final £170,000 needed to complete the training centre, which will offer essential support and training for volunteers in the heritage and countryside skills necessary for managing Rutland Water and other nearby sites.

Simon Bentley, director of LRWT, commented: “We were delighted to welcome Their Royal Highnesses to the nature reserve and show them our plans for the volunteer training centre. It’s an extremely important project for us, so we were thrilled by their interest.”
 

An artist's impression of the new volunteer training centre at Rutland Water.
Photo courtesy of LRWT.