Pollination charity awarded £10k grant

A conservation charity has been awarded £10,000 as part of an annual one-off award for good causes.

The Pollinator Project in Guernsey was chosen for the funding from Dougie's Grant, which was set up in 2022 in memory of Douglas Le Huquet, a "proud Guernsey man" who lived in the island for almost 100 years.

Mr Le Huquet's daughter Michelle Knowles said "such was his love of Guernsey he wanted to leave a legacy behind for the good of the Guernsey community".

Chairman of the Pollinator Project, Gordon Steele, said the award was a "fantastic surprise".

The Pollinator Project was founded in 2017 to make a positive difference to nature in Guernsey.

As the name suggests, it focuses on pollinators that visit flowering plants.

Mr Steele said: "Sometimes you apply for grants and you just have to forget about them, the competition is really fierce to get funding for charities - there are so many good causes across the Bailiwick.

"We realised we had a chance with our Fort Field restoration plans. We know that Dougie enjoyed nature and that walking through meadows filled with flowers was something he loved."

The charity said the money would be used to pay for a range of tree planting, improvement work on the wildflower meadows, public amenities, and to pay for the annual cutting, baling and making of hay.

Ms Knowles said her father would have been "delighted with the plans for Fort Field".

"The money is going to pay for an avenue of wild cherry trees, fruit trees and a picnic bench, and work on the wildflower meadow," she said.

"I know this won't be instant, in fact that's part of the reason we picked this project, the results are going to be there for years to come.

"This is something for the whole community, for everyone to enjoy."

Previous recipients of the grant include Mill Street Community Cafe, Guille-Alles Library, and Grow.

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