£1.9m raised for new view at Westonbirt Arboretum
The Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum are celebrating reaching their £1.9 million fundraising target for Phase Two of the Westonbirt Project.
Supported by donations from hundreds of individuals as well as companies, trusts and foundations, the second phase of the project which includes a Treetop Walkway and Tree Management Centre can now be realised.
The Friends led a two year- long fundraising campaign, supported by the Forestry Commission who manage Westonbirt Arboretum, to achieve the funds to bring these two significant projects to life.
Lorraine Jones, Fundraising Manager for the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum commented:
“We are so thrilled to have reached our target for public fundraising. This is a momentus occasion for Westonbirt and being able to make the Treetop Walkway and Wolfson Tree Management Centre a reality is fantastic.”
The Treetop Walkway will be a new, ‘never seen before’ perspective on the arboretum’s trees and landscape. The walkway will transport visitors 13m high into the canopy and give them the opportunity to learn more about trees and how they live.
The Wolfson Tree Management Centre will help Westonbirt’s expert tree team to manage the tree collection and is a huge step forward for the arboretum. It will mean the tree team can work more efficiently and so spend more time working out in the arboretum, while visitors can also learn about how the collection is managed.
Construction work on the Tree Management Centre has begun thanks to a grant from the Wolfson Foundation, with work on the Treetop Walkway likely to begin in late spring 2015.
Explore Gloucestershire
25 February 2015
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