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Brambles Wildlife Rescue in Ribchester has benefitted from a £1,000 donation from Barratt and David Wilson Homes.
Brambles Wildlife Rescue was founded by Mel and Justin Greenhalgh, who started out volunteering as a foster home for wildlife a decade ago.
After a poorly hedgehog wandered into their garden in 2018, they began nursing it back to health and named it Bramble. Shortly afterwards, the couple became certified wildlife rehabilitators and, in 2019, Brambles Wildlife Rescue was born.
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Barratt and David Wilson Homes’ donation will be used for a couple of upcoming projects, including the construction of a dedicated building to house and treat unwell animals, as well as the creation of large aviaries for recovering swans.
Justin said: “We work full-time alongside running the rescue service, which is entirely self-funded and non-profit. The pandemic saw our workload and demand double due to more people being off work, and thus coming across more wounded and sick animals than before.
“It got to a point where we knew we had to upsize, so in 2023 we moved away from Blackpool to Ribchester as we were able to get more land. Now, instead of caring for the animals in our own home, we are looking to construct an entirely separate building fully dedicated to our work.
“Around 40% of our patients come from nearby Longridge and surrounding villages and, on average, we tend to 20-40 sick or orphaned animals at any one time.
“Over the next couple of years, we are looking to build a small independent rescue building with veterinary pens and care kits to give the best possible facilities for injured wildlife in our care. This includes four large secure aviaries with insulation huts for winter, and water pool facilities for larger waterfowl from ducks to swans.”
As well as their full-time work, running the voluntary rescue takes significant commitment as it involves patient medical care, mucking out, and medication, meaning an average day is 12-16 hours long, seven days a week.
Justin added: “We are so grateful for Barratt and David Wilson Homes’ recent donation towards material costs for our current aviary build project that will enable us to soft release and test flight wildlife before releasing back into the wild.
“Donations and grants are so important to Brambles Wildlife Rescue to enable us to keep our doors open to operate, rescue, save a life, and release back to the wild, supporting and boosting the wildlife population in our local communities.”
Barratt Homes has partnered with the RSPB since 2014 to develop methods of successfully integrating nature into developments that have been given planning permission, and to demonstrate to the rest of the industry, and to homeowners, what is achievable.
Rhys Nicholson, managing director at Barratt Homes Manchester, said: “As a leading developer, it’s important that we support organisations in our surrounding areas to leave a positive impact in the communities in which we build. Mel and Justin’s work is a point of pride for both Ribchester and Lancashire.”
Claire Jarvis, managing director at David Wilson Homes North West, said: “Brambles Wildlife Rescue is an outstanding feature in the local area that is worthy of any available support. Its contribution to the local wildlife and nature cannot be overstated, and we are delighted to have been able to assist with its upcoming projects.”
Brambles Wildlife Rescue is based close to the developers’ Bowland Meadow and Inglewhite Meadow developments in Longridge.
To find out more about the charity, visit the Facebook page at Brambles Wildlife Rescue.
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