The Owl Conservation Project is a community interest company born out of the British Owl Project. The British Owl Project was set up by Lu Barton in 2020 after her work with another organisation decided to follow a different path.  Lucy Barnett then joined Lu in the project during 2021 and Gemma Warr during 2022. Both joined Lu in becoming directors in 2023.

The British Owl Project was set up to work with environmental groups, landowners, tenants and educational groups etc. to enhance and increase existing habitats for our British Owls and create new habitats for them, linking them as networks or habitat highways.  Added to these areas and networks of habitat were nest boxes for the different breeds of owls and their monitoring.

The British Owl Project’s name began to spread and the project’s popularity increased quickly and so it was decided that we would become a Community Interest Company which would allow us to be able to apply for grants to help with our work. We found that government regulations do not allow us to use the word “British” in our name so the British Owl Project became the Owl Conservation Project CIC.

 Our project now includes our habitat work (which also considers soil biology), surveying, installation and monitoring of nest boxes (including Barn Owls under Lu’s Section 1 Disturbance Licence);  population and behaviour surveys – we are working with the Little Owl Monitoring Network (a national project) to survey and collect data on our Little Owls to investigate the reasons for their significant decline and hopefully turn their fortunes around.  Our plans for later this year include the surveying of both the Long Eared Owls and Tawny Owls.

 We are involved in the educational aspect of conservation undertaking various events, talks and workshops, together with the training and helping individuals and groups who wish to get more involved in this work.

 We have an increasing number of new aspects we wish to start work on and will hopefully be able to get funding for these over the coming weeks, months and years and will be announcing these here as they come on stream.

There is nothing more beautiful than watching a Barn Owl floating silently across a meadow hunting, hear the haunting call of Tawny Owls, look into the determined glare of a Little Owl, to witness the amazing sight of a Short Eared Owl’s courtship flight or look into the dynamic orange stare of a Long Eared Owl.

We would like to offer YOU the opportunity to be involved in Owl Conservation and species research. Whether you have been involved in conservation in the past or would like to start now.