(Image: Forestry England)
Volunteers helping visitors spot Northumberland’s celebrated ospreys have received a £500 boost from a popular music festival.
Redefest organisers have donated £500 to Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s Kielder Osprey Watch project.
The donation followed this year’s final festival, with organisers backing local projects that benefit the community.
Joe Crutwell, volunteering support officer at Northumberland Wildlife Trust, said: "In just four months this year, our Osprey Watch volunteers spoke to 5,131 visitors and clocked up 1,297 volunteering hours, so this donation is a great boost to their efforts and will be put to good use when the birds return to the region next spring.
"Keep watching the skies from March onwards and put a note in your diary to come and meet the volunteers at the Osprey Watch cabin and try out the telescopes for yourself."
Ospreys have nested in Kielder since 2009, returning each spring and staying until September.
July and August are the busiest months, as chicks hatch, grow and prepare to fly.
From April to mid-August, volunteers staff the Osprey Watch cabin at Tower Knowe Visitor Centre, helping visitors see the birds through telescopes and learn about them.
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The project brings visitors closer to wildlife while volunteers meet the public and enjoy Kielder’s landscape.
The Kielder Osprey Project is a partnership between Kielder Water & Forest Park Development Trust, Forestry England, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Northumbrian Water, Wild Intrigue and Calvert.
For volunteers, the project offers a chance to meet people while enjoying Kielder’s landscape.