More than £10,000 donated to projects around the Norfolk Broads

The Museum of the Broads in Stalham. It received funding from Love the Broads to purchase a new visitor wheelchair. Picture: Love the Broads

Sailing equipment for children and a new footbridge on the popular Wherryman’s Way are among the projects being funding by an organisation charged with supporting the Norfolk Broads.

A view over Hickling Broad. Norfolk Wildlife Trust has received funding from Love the Broads for a project to help children experience its Hickling and Ranworth nature reserves by water. Picture: Richard Osbourne

Love the Broads, established by the Broads Trust, is donating more than £10,000 to 11 projects which will benefit wildlife, education and tourism in the area, part of the National Parks family.

The money was raised by 75 tourism businesses in the Broads, who invited visitors and guests to make donations to the fund. Love the Broads also collects annual fees from members and has received legacies from lovers of the Broads.

The groups to benefit from this round of funding are:

– Norfolk Wildlife Trust, which received £1,200 for buoyancy aids and education resources for children to experience the wetlands by boat at its Hickling and Ranworth reserves.

The Rockland St Mary Staithe car park footbridge. A project to replace it has received funding from Love the Broads. Picture: Love the Broads

– Whitlingham Charitable Trust, which received £900 towards a sculpture trail at Whitlingham Country Park.

– Rockland St Mary’s Poor Trust, which received £680 towards the replacement of a footbridge at Rockland St Mary Staithe car park.

– Norfolk Schools Sailing Association, which received £1,154 for equipment to support sailing training for young people.

– Broads Authority, which received £1,500 for an augmented reality sandbox, an educational tool to raise awareness of water and the environment.

– Museum of the Broads, which received £192 for a wheelchair to access a new electric trip boat.

The other beneficiaries were the Bure Navigation Conservation Trust, Wherry Maud Trust, Friends of Nicholas Everitt Park, Hall Farm Cottages in Ludham and Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Yacht Owners Association.

Peter Howe, a trustee of the Broads Trust, said: “We are delighted, once again, to be able to award grants to many excellent projects within the Broads National Park.

“Love the Broads has demonstrated that there is a real desire and determination to ensure that it remains special for the future.

“By making a small donation to Love the Broads, visitors and residents can see how they can make a real difference.”

Since Love the Broads was launched in 2012 more than £50,000 has been donated to 31 projects.

Story by Bethany Whymark for the Eastern Daily Press