End of Scheme Conference Marks New Beginning

At the end of January 2025, the Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers Landscape Partnership Scheme held a conference to celebrate our achievements across the Brecks over the last five years. However, the day turned out to be more than a celebration of what was past, as we were able to announce our project, due to end in March, has been given the green light to extend its activities until October 2025.

Using the money raised by the National Lottery players, the scheme has created positive and lasting change for people and communities in and around the Brecks. We have over-delivered on many of our outcomes and, due to underspend in the original funding, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has approved our application to extend our work into new outcomes.

We were thrilled to be able to celebrate this news with over 100 attendees at our conference, as well as looking back with pride at the accomplishments of the project which began in 2020, following a five-year grant of £1.97 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The conference featured an exhibition of the projects that made up the scheme, as well as screenings of films made during the course of the last five years. We were also able to hear from some of our amazing partners themselves in talks highlighting just a few of the wonderful work they have done under the BFER flag.

• Healing Waters – introduced over 700 people to outdoor swimming, including those with additional needs and their carers. Also trained 13 open water lifeguards and introduced 94 swimmers to basic lifesaving skills
• Lost Ponds – restored 15 ice age pingo ponds. A first-of-a-kind project attracting a lot of interest from researchers, ecologists and geologists
• The Edge Programme – 70 young people (either NEET or SEND) improved their skills, confidence and wellbeing in a new outdoor education programme developed by Bush Adventures during the project.
• River Raiders – a volunteer project delivered by The Breckland Society, researching the Viking history of the Brecks, in order to write the publication, River Raiders: Anglo-Saxon and Viking Breckland.

We also heard from our brilliant evaluator, Alison Gudgeon from Glevum Consulting, who gave us an overview of the scheme, including highlight such as:

• 1,484 volunteers involved
• 4,522 students
• 2,750 people trained
• 83 kilometres of new/improved path access
• 8 kilometres of river corridor unlocked

Councillor Philip Faircloth-Mutton, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Communities and Equality, said:

“This conference was to celebrate the people, projects and achievements of the last five years in the Brecks. It’s great news that the scheme will be able continue throughout the summer, and deliver even more for the area, the wildlife and the local community. Throughout the scheme, so many organisations, volunteers and experts have come together to run outdoor activity opportunities and conservation projects, protecting and enhancing the local environment in and around the Brecks. We continue to work closely with Norfolk County Council on plans to protect the future of the Brecks, following the end of the project later this year.”

Emma Fernandes-Lopes, Committee Member for England, Midlands & East at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:

“It’s been fantastic to see this project making a lasting difference in the Brecks over the past five years. Thanks to National Lottery players, our £2million in funding has made possible innovative partnerships to preserve rare natural heritage, and helped communities to connect with the landscapes and wildlife around them.”

You can watch a film made at the conference here: BFER Conference 2025