As our New Life on the Old West (NLOW) project comes to a close, Chief Executive, Hayley Neal, finds herself reflecting not just on what’s been achieved but what’s been nurtured. Over five years, this National Lottery Heritage Funded project has connected people and wildlife across the Cambridgeshire Fens in ways that are as moving as they are measurable.

A landscape transformed

From the very start, NLOW aimed to help wildlife thrive in the Fens. It’s a bold ambition, especially in a landscape shaped so heavily by drainage, agriculture and human intervention. But over the course of the project, our communities have shown how much is possible when you bring creativity, care and collaboration into environmental work.

The final evaluation shows:

• 75 habitat improvement projects were delivered
• Over 3,280 volunteer hours were contributed
• 191 events reached more than 3,500 attendees
• 7,200 square metres of new ponds and 2,000 metres of berms were created
• 24,220m² of new wildflower meadow was planted
• 1,475 metres of hedgerow added new corridors for wildlife

This is not just conservation. It’s community action for nature on a landscape scale.

Connecting people to place

What made this project so successful wasn’t just the technical expertise. It was the people.

Landowners who gave up field corners for ponds. Parish councils who backed biodiversity. Volunteers who showed up again and again, even in the rain, to plant, mulch, record and inspire.

One participant put it beautifully:

“NLOW has been a very big part of our lives since it started. We have learned so much… We are passing on what we have learned to family and friends, taking them on walks and visits to flower meadows we didn’t know existed.”

Another said:

“You made it accessible, friendly and welcoming. We discovered dragonflies, bats, wildflowers and butterflies. Some for the very first time.”

These quotes are just a glimpse of the stories behind the statistics. Behind every new pond is a moment of discovery. Behind every wildflower meadow, a conversation about the future.

Legacy in the landscape

One of the project’s great strengths was its blend of ecological vision with practical delivery. Whether through the deceptively humble berms that became vital aquatic habitat or the creation of pollinator-rich churchyards and recreation grounds, NLOW has left behind visible, accessible, living legacies.

It also helped raise awareness of some of the Fens’ most iconic but threatened species: turtle doves, lapwings and water voles. All of them stand to benefit from the habitats NLOW created and restored.

As the evaluation states:

“The project has demonstrated how nature recovery can happen in and around working farmland with local people involved, enthused and equipped with new skills.”

That’s exactly what we hoped to prove and we did.

A personal reflection

I joined Cambridgeshire ACRE just as this remarkable project was entering its final chapter. And that’s perhaps the only sadness I carry. That I didn’t get to experience the whole journey.

But in these last months I’ve seen something extraordinary. I’ve spoken to parish councillors brimming with pride. I’ve watched young people present plaster animal tracks they made at workshops. I’ve visited pond edges buzzing with new life. And I’ve seen the genuine joy and connection this project sparked.

It has been an honour to steward its closing chapter.

With thanks

Thank you to everyone who made New Life on the Old West possible:

• The dedicated staff team past and present who shaped and delivered the work
• The volunteers who gave their time, energy and ideas
• The landowners and farmers who made space for nature
• The community groups and parish councils who brought the project to life locally
• And most of all thank you to the National Lottery Heritage Fund whose support made all of this possible.

The funding may be ending but the impact continues. As one person told us:

“Even the smallest wildflower patch is worth it. Even the smallest contribution counts.”

That’s the legacy we carry forward.

This may be the end of the funded project, but it is not goodbye. It’s farewell for now.