This week a historic partnership was agreed between BBOWT and the RSPB to conserve a major part of Oxfordshire's vital wetlands, writes HELEN TAYLOR, of the wildlife trust

A landscape brimming with wildlife and enjoyed by people stretching out as far as the eye can see is the joint vision of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in a groundbreaking partnership launched this week in Oxfordshire.

The seasonally flooded meadows of the county were once flush with sedges, flowers and grasses, and large numbers of wading birds such as curlew and redshank feasted on insects in the muddy shallows. But centuries of drainage for agriculture, and the encroachment of towns, have dried up the landscape, shrivelling the wet grasslands until only one acre in every 40 that once flourished, now survives.

Over the last 20 years, wading birds which thrive in the wet grasslands of England and Wales have dramatically declined.

We have lost 40 per cent of our curlews, 40 per cent of our lapwings and a massive 61 per cent of our snipe. These numbers are frightening and are particularly pertinent in Oxfordshire where wet grassland is a special feature of the landscape, with the River Thames and its tributaries enriching the floodplain.

To no longer hear the thrilling cry of the curlew on our meadows, or watch a flock of lapwings wheeling through the sky, would be a terrible loss for our county.

Both BBOWT and the RSPB are passionate about changing the situation, which requires more than just managing isolated reserves. It needs a visionary approach. Just such an immense undertaking was launched on Monday as the Ray Valley Restoration Project, a joint partnership between BBOWT and the RSPB.

The project stretches across a massive 73 sq km, from Marsh Gibbon in Buckinghamshire, south to Otmoor in Oxfordshire, with the River Ray flowing across the landscape. It includes BBOWT's Asham Meads and Upper Ray Meadows nature reserves, near Bicester and Marsh Gibbon, and the RSPB's Otmoor nature reserve on Otmoor.

Ambitious and long-term, the project aims to create new wetland habitats, improve river water quality and increase community involvement in conservation.

For the very first time, this project links BBOWT's and the RSPB's nature reserves in the area, with the wider community. While both organisations have worked with landowners for many years on looking after wildlife and managing nature reserves, BBOWT and the RSPB hope that by working together they can provide greater benefits for biodiversity across an entire river catchment.

Already, over the last decade, more than £3.5m has been spent by both organisations on buying and looking after nature reserves. More than 1,000 hectares of habitat restoration work has been carried out, with the involvement and essential support of 80 farmers and landowners. But now the scope is even bigger.

Steve Holliday, RSPB Midlands director, said: "It is exciting to be forging what we hope will be an effective, long-term partnership between the RSPB, BBOWT, farmers and the local community. We are looking forward to working with partners to build on recent work providing attractive landscapes and a rich variety of wildlife for people to enjoy."

Water voles, otters, dragonflies, butterflies, wetland plants and wading birds, such as lapwings, snipe and curlews, are just some of the wildlife that will benefit.

This area is one of the few remaining national strongholds for the rare true fox-sedge, a humble but important wetland plant clinging on in the wet grasslands, and this project will provide the opportunity to help it, and other plants, to thrive.

The work of BBOWT and the RSPB around the River Ray and Upper Thames Tributaries is already being recognised nationally for spearheading wetland conservation.

The partnership will now be able to spread their work across the whole river catchment, involving farmers and landowners in looking after wildlife by using farming methods to support the environment. Both organisations offer specialist wildlife, water and grant advice and support, helping to increase the area of land being conserved.

The two organisations will also work together with local authorities, the Environment Agency and Natural England and will provide exciting educational opportunities for individuals and groups.

Philippa Lyons, chief executive of BBOWT, said: "This new partnership between BBOWT and the RSPB will provide the foundations for a relationship which will help to shape the future of our wildlife. But it won't happen without the help and support of the local community.

"Everyone from landowners to schoolchildren will need to be engaged and involved to ensure that we really can bring life back to our floodplains."

The Ray Valley Restoration Project is a rare opportunity to work on a truly immense scale. The area will become a wonderful example of a working floodplain.