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Legacies

 

Leave a Legacy for Barn Owls

Memory tree
Ida elmes square

Make a lasting difference to wild Barn Owl conservation

Why we need your legacy

Legacies provide us with essential funds to carry out our educational and conservation work, create nature reserves and long-lasting homes for wild Barn Owls.

Make a donation in Memoriam

Many people now ask their families and friends to make a donation to charity rather than send flowers to a funeral. You may like to suggest that donations are made to the Barn Owl Trust in your memory.

We will remember

Each legacy or donation in memory, is marked with a leaf on our Memory Tree. This beautiful nine foot high wooden tree was designed and built here at our offices in Devon and is a constant reminder of all those that have remembered the Trust with a bequest or for whom we have received donations in memoriam.
Every wooden leaf is unique, hand-made and engraved at the Trust. Each leaf bears the name of someone who will be remembered for making a lasting difference to wild Barn Owl conservation.

More information

If you’d like more information about leaving a legacy or donating in memory to the Barn Owl Trust, please contact our Legacy Officer, Sam Tully on sam@barnowltrust.org.uk.

How legacies, and donations in memory, have benefitted wildlife

The Lennon Legacy Project

We received our first large legacy in 2001 from Vivien Lennon.
We used this to purchase land (26 acres) adjoining our offices
and create the Lennon Legacy Project (LLP)
which we manage for Barn Owls and other wildlife.

Wildlife Tower

Our Wildlife Tower was constructed in 2010 in memory of Friend of the Trust, John Woodland.
It now provides a lasting home for a wide variety of insects, amphibians, bats and birds.

Meeting Room

Following a legacy from Norman Alderson
we were able to build a much needed Meeting Room in 2011.

Wildlife Ponds

Legacies from Major Charles Oakley and Florence Parsons
enabled us to add two large ponds, the Oakley Pond and the Flo Pond, to the LLP,
increasing the biodiversity of the site.

Kingfisher wall

Thanks to a generous legacy from one individual,
we were able to build this Kingfisher wall on the
bank of one of the wildlife ponds on our reserve.

Solar panels

In 2012, a legacy from Peggy May Fullman provided an array of Solar Panels.
These generate some of the electricity we use and also raise funds for the Trust.

Nestboxing

A lot of the legacies we receive go towards supporting our Barn Owl nestboxing projects across the Southwest.
Every year, from October to February, Barn Owl Trust staff and volunteers are out and about erecting nestboxes

Information service

A lot of the legacies we receive go towards supporting our enquiry and information services.
Our staff answer thousands of enquiries every year, working with farmers, land
owners, educators and wildlife enthusiasts across the UK and beyond.

Office rebuild

On the 15th of May 2023, the long-awaited office rebuild began with the demolition of our old office building. The rebuild was funded by legacies from Peter Blood and others, and our new office has maximum insulation and is a very energy-efficient building. We are all very happy to be warm during the winters from now on!

Where there’s a Will, there’s a way.

And with your help, we are making the world a better place for Barn Owls.

Legacies help us to plan ahead and take on major projects – habitat improvement in areas where Barn Owls are struggling to survive due to lack of food and places to nest; educational resources for both adults and children; research projects to maximise the effectiveness of our conservation work… the list goes on. There are so many things we’d like to do if the funds were available.

Leaving a legacy to the Barn Owl Trust is a very worthwhile way to make a difference and to be remembered in years to come. This is, after all, a final opportunity to have a positive influence on the heritage we leave for future generations.

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How to leave a legacy or bequest to the Barn Owl Trust

What is a legacy?
A legacy or bequest is a gift of either money or an item that is left to someone, or an organisation, when somebody dies.

How can I leave a legacy?
The best way to do this is by making a Will in which you specify what you wish to leave and to whom. Just telling someone or an organisation that you are going to leave them an amount or a gift when you die is not enough. Your wishes need to be clearly set out on paper (preferably in a Will) so that those you leave behind can follow your instructions easily.

How to make a Will
There are various ways you can make a Will:
–  Consult a Solicitor.
–  Contact a Will making company.
–  Download a blank Will form from the Internet.
–  More about leaving gifts to charity in your Will.

The details you will need to leave a gift/legacy to the Trust are:
Barn Owl Trust, Waterleat, Ashburton, Devon TQ13 7HU and our registered charity number: 1201419.

Already made a Will?
If you already have a Will and wish to leave the Trust a legacy, you can simply add a Codicil to your existing Will. A solicitor can advise you on this.

A lasting record of your generous gift
As a thank you, and as a permanent reminder of the contribution that you or your loved one has made to the important work of Barn Owl and wildlife conservation, every legacy and donation in memory is recorded for posterity with a hand-made wooden leaf on our Memory Tree – find out more.

More information
If you’d like more information about leaving a legacy or donating in memory to the Barn Owl Trust, please contact our Legacy Officer, Sam Tully on sam@barnowltrust.org.uk.

Our Memory Tree

Designed and built here at our offices in Devon, by the Barn Owl Trust team, this nine foot wooden tree provides a constant reminder of all the those that remembered Barn Owls.

Each wooden leaf bears the name of someone who either chose to support our work by leaving a legacy to the Trust or, of someone whose family and friends have made donations in their memory.

Until 2011, our Memory Tree was just an idea. We had recorded the names of all those that had remembered the Trust with a legacy, or for whom we had received donations in memoriam but we had nowhere to put a Memory Tree. It was a legacy that made it possible to build our wonderful Norman Alderson Meeting Room and allow us to provide a home for our Memory Tree.

If you would like to find out more please contact us.

Every wood leaf is unique, hand-made and engraved at the Trust. Each leaf bears the name of someone who will be remembered for making a lasting difference to wild Barn Owl conservation.

Memory tree
Memory tree leaves on branch stuart westaway 250x188

Stuart regularly raised funds for us by cycling

Memory tree leaves 250x188

John’s donation built our Wildlife Tower

Memory tree leaves on branch florence parsons 1 250x188

Florence’s legacy helped to build the Flo Pond