WE DID IT!

Thank you – with your support we have reached our target!

We are so grateful to all those who have supported our appeal for Sweet Briar Marshes, including our exceptionally generous project partners Aviva who have matched pound for pound every donation up to £300,000 💚

Your donations will not only allow us to purchase 90 acres of precious wilderness in the heart of Norwich, but will also help fund a vital “Discovery Phase” so that we can plan for the site’s restoration for wildlife and for people too.

“Imagine stepping into a secret wild marsh in the heart of Norwich. A place where kingfishers whistle, water voles swim and orchids bloom. A place of tranquility for people too, where city children – and adults – can connect with nature. This is not a dream – Sweet Briar Marshes is a miraculous treasure – but we need your help to save it” - Patrick Barkham, President of Norfolk Wildlife Trust

Close to the heart of Norwich lies Sweet Briar Marshes: 90 acres of fen, rough meadow, grazing marsh, old hedgerows and young woodland. This mosaic of habitats, unusually for a city centre, was arable farmland until as recently as the late 1990s, and today provides a treasure trove of nature, wildness and peace.

But this uniquely wild place is increasingly surrounded by urban development, and its sensitive ecology - including a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) - was in danger of being lost forever…

Today, with the chance to secure the land, restore its biodiversity, and enhance it for people and wildlife alike, we have the remarkable opportunity to rewrite the story of Sweet Briar Marshes.

We want to create A Wilder Norwich For All with Sweet Briar at its centre: an urban green space that is both rich in wildlife and enriching to the lives of the communities it serves; accessible to and valued by all the species who share it.

To do so, we appealed for your help to raise £600,000 to:

-  Acquire 90 acres of precious wilderness in the heart of Norwich

-  Begin work to create a major new nature reserve for the City and its residents

-  Protect and enhance a vital stepping stone for wildlife in an otherwise urban landscape

We already had a head start: our public appeal is generously match funded by Aviva to a value of £300,000, meaning your donations can work twice as hard!

You've helped us raise £300,000 to unlock these vital funds; now we must take the vital next steps to acquire the land, and begin to plan for its restoration.

Thank you for your support.

Our ambitions for Norwich are being made possible by the support of:

Aviva

For over 200 years, Norwich has been Aviva’s historic home, and today over 5,000 staff still work in the city. As a long-term supporter of Norfolk Wildlife Trust, they share our commitment to sustainability through climate resilience, nature recovery, and building stronger communities. We are grateful that Aviva has generously pledged up to £300,000 in match funding for the appeal, helping to secure Sweet Briar Marshes under NWT’s care for the future.

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

We are extremely fortunate that the Esme᷄e Fairbairn Foundation shared our concern for the future of Sweet Briar Marshes, and our vision for realising its potential. We are grateful for their intervention – by purchasing the land earlier this year, they have given us the opportunity to buy it back, and in doing so securing it in perpetuity, protecting it from harm, and enhancing its precious mosaic of habitats for the wildlife and communities it serves.