Ouseburn Trust

2024 in Ouseburn's blue, green & in-between spaces 💚 930 Regular volunteer hours. 💚 1,483 Business volunteer hours. 💚 Business partnerships with One Utility Bill & Rounton Coffee who each had their first volunteer day. 💚 We planted 1,200 native woodland bulbs through the Newcastle's Nature Networks project, funded by the Government's Species Survival Fund. The fund was developed by DEFRA & its arm's-length bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England & the Environment Agency. 💚 Our volunteers learnt how to scythe, to restore grassland habitats around the Valley & increase biodiversity. 💚 We received approximately £15,000 in grant funding that went directly into Ouseburn's environment projects, & that's just from us at the Ouseburn Trust. Many other groups & organisations also invested in public spaces & wildlife. 💚 We enjoyed sharing ideas & working with friends & partners including Ouseburn Farm Charity Ltd, Stepney Bank Stables, Wild Intrigue, Tyne Housing, Ouse Burn Way & many more. Thank you to everyone who's contributed to our shared spaces in Ouseburn Valley. Our river, woodland & all those spaces in between are home to a diverse range of wildlife. They provide the backdrop to all the culture & creativity in the Valley. Thank you for your support in keeping it beautiful & healthy. If you'd like to make a donation towards our environment management efforts, please visit https://lnkd.in/eNftd2mZ

Two weeks ago, some of the Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions UK&I CSM team came together to use our Veolia Cares Volunteering Day with the charity Ouseburn Trust in Newcastle. The trust has helped with the regeneration of the Ouseburn Valley area of Newcastle, which was once a very industrial area and now is a creative and cultural hub with lots of green space. They rely on volunteers like us to help with the upkeep of the area - on the day we had a wide range of tasks from clearing pathways to painting railings. It was great to spend some time with colleagues, outside of work, whilst helping a worthwhile cause.

We're on the look out for someone to join our staff team! Having opened our new community space, 51 Lime Street, we're looking for an enthusiastic individual to serve as a front of house point of contact for visitors, whilst also taking care of administrative tasks and building maintenance. If you love the Ouseburn, we'd love to hear from you!

Back in early autumn, we were joined by the team from One Utility Bill for their first volunteering day in the Ouseburn woodland. We chatted with Heather, one of the brilliant team, about their experience. Read the blog here ⬇ https://lnkd.in/e4ipahDc

Last week, some of the Rounton Coffee team spent the day with our charity partner Ouseburn Trust to give a little something back. It was a fantastic day doing odd jobs and exploring the area we support through our 1% for the Planet pledge. Check out below to see what we got up to... 🌱 We got our hands dirty planting daffodil bulbs, which will bring a burst of colour in the spring ✂️ Tidied hedges to help keep Ouseburn looking its best 🗑️ Doing our bit to keep the area clean by picking up litter. We also installed a new rubbish bin 🍂 Sweeping up the last of the autumn leaves to keep the paths clear A big shoutout to Ouseburn Trust for the opportunity to give back! We love days out like this, especially with our charity partners. 💚 #ouseburn #ouseburntrust #newcastle #charitypartner #coffeeroasters #specialtycoffee #northyorkshire

We're thrilled to announce the launch of a new green spaces project that will boost the growth of community composting in Ouseburn Valley ♻️ 🌱 Thanks to a generous grant from Newcastle Building Society Community Fund, in 2025 we will build a community composting area in the Ouseburn woodland, in collaboration with Wild Roots Community Garden & Ouseburn Farm Charity Ltd. Together with local residents, businesses & partners we will give a new lease of life to waste materials from our green space management, alongside other green & brown waste from the area including Stepney Bank Stables, food waste from venues & cardboard waste from businesses. Not only will this drive a reduction in what ends up in landfill, it will increase local biodiversity & create a peat-free growing medium for use around the Valley. There will be plenty of opportunities to get involved, from building days to free composting-tips sessions with local experts. This project is just a part of a movement that's already here in Ouseburn. 💚 The concept has been tried & tested by our friends at Ouseburn Farm and Wild Roots Community Garden, so we're excited to help this scale up, to benefit more people & bring our communities closer together. 💚 Wild Intrigue's Wild Ouseburn Talks will explore community gardening & composting in the first few months of 2025. The best news is that this doesn't stop at community composting. This funding will also enable us to create diverse habitats on post-industrial land, by encouraging plants that love sand, silt and gravels, to help make Ouseburn an even nicer place to be. More on that in the new year!

I am pleased to share that our research project on Ballast Hills Burial Ground has received attention from BBC North East! This Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC): Curiosity Award funded project, run through Newcastle University, is dedicated to preserving and exploring the history and heritage of one of Newcastle’s less recognised burial places. The BBC story highlights our team’s work in geophysical and geomatic surveys, 3D recording, and gravestone documentation, which are crucial to understanding the lives and legacies connected to Ballast Hills. Special thanks to all our partners and supporters who have helped bring this research forward. Newcastle University, Ouseburn Trust, Newcastle City Council, #NewcastleCityLibraries, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, #ShaneMccorristine, #NorthumberlandandDurhamFamilyHistorySociety. Read more about our project here: [BBC North East Article](https://lnkd.in/et8AVSqb)

Did you know Victoria Tunnel tours are delivered by a team of volunteer guides? It takes serious passion to join the team, but they tell us all the time that the Tunnel has a way of drawing you in... Pictured here is Pete who you might've noticed in many of our photos, or perhaps even leading a tour if you've visited before. He has racked up tour guiding numbers in the thousands. 😲 Pete is one of our guides who loves a costume, so here he is serving his best ARP Warden look at The Ouseburn Festival. If you're interested in local heritage & meeting lots of new people, perhaps joining our volunteer tour guide team could be for you? Read more about the role & register your interest: bit.ly/vt-guide

We're looking for a tenant to occupy the mezzanine of 51 Lime Street. Located in the heart of Ouseburn Valley, the new open-plan workspace is on the first floor of our converted warehouse -- 2,300 square feet in total. It's a blank cavas that will suit various organisations. The tenant will have 24/7 access, through a separate entrance if required, along with a high-speed secure internet connection & optional shared facilities downstairs (reception, meeting room, co-working desks, an event space & more). Email hello@ouseburntrust.org.uk to arrange a viewing, or find more details here: https://lnkd.in/evFbeZvU

The last month has been a busy one for us. It's time for a long-overdue update. 🎉 The Ouseburn Festival took place Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th July. Whilst it was possibly the wettest July weekend *ever*, we had a great time. There were numerous art commissions & local venues hosted brilliant events. Separate post coming soon! 🏠 We opened 51 Lime Street our new base & community venue. Our exhibition, 'More than a Valley', has stirred lots of conversation with visitors & we love that! The co-working area is open & in full swing. Find all the info you need about co-working at 51 Lime Street: https://lnkd.in/eybw89ea 👚 Throughout July, 51 Lime Street hosted a month-long pop-up by Re:Bourn, a small business that sells vintage clothing & luxury brand 'dead stock'. They're on a mission to reduce clothing that ends up in the landfill. It was brilliant to have them make a corner of the venue look so beautiful. Look out for information about their pop-up in The Biscuit Factory in August.