For one week in April, you can double the impact of your donation! We have been selected as a participating charity in the Big Give’s Green Match Fund, aiming to fundraise £8,000 to restore our rare acid grassland.

Barnes Common is home to some of the richest examples of lowland acid grassland in London, providing a home to rare insects and plants. The funds we plan to raise will go towards the restoration of this fragile habitat.

Lowland Acid Grassland is a UK threatened habitat of national conservation importance. Recent research has identified 57 invertebrate species linked to LAG and sandy soil habitats, with 15 species being of conservation concern, such as the Nationally Rare Bryony Mining Bee (Andrea florea) and the Ridge-Saddled Carpenter Bee (Heriades truncorum). Several of the Yellow Meadow Ant (Lasius flavus) hills found on Mill Hill are thought to be 150-200 years old!

However, historically, across the Common much of this habitat has been lost through urban development and succession to scrub and woodland. Acid grassland is a fragile ecosystem and too much human disturbance can destroy it altogether, as can increases in nitrates from pollution and nutrients from dog fouling.

Any donations made via BigGive.org over the course of that week will be matched by a donor, so if we raise £8,000, it will be doubled to £16,000! Please take advantage of this exciting opportunity and time your donations for the match funding week. Our fundraising page is here and will be taking donations from noon on 22 April until noon on 29 April.

Please mark your calendars for our match funding week, 22-29 April!

One donation, twice the impact.