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about us
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our history
The Tubney Charitable Trust was created in 1997 by Mr Miles Blackwell, retired Chairman of Blackwell Limited, the Oxford-based bookseller. His wife Briony was an original trustee of the Trust. Miles and Briony Blackwell shared a great love of the countryside and animals, as well as a concern for the environment, and supported many charities during their lives to further their interests.
Miles and Briony died unexpectedly in 2001, at 56 and 46 respectively. Following the subsequent bequest of their estate to the Charity, the Trust grew substantially in size. Since that time, the Trustees have sought to fund areas which they believe Miles and Briony would have supported. In accordance with the wishes of the founders, the Charity has a limited life and is gradually spending down its endowment. The Trust seeks to support projects that achieve sustainable, significant and meaningful benefits that endure beyond the life of the Trust. Miles and Briony’s endowment to The Tubney Charitable Trust ensures that many important projects will benefit from their generosity.
Miles and Briony Blackwell
Miles Blackwell
Miles Blackwell began his career with a variety of apprenticeships in the family
firm of Blackwell Limited, the world famous Oxford-based bookseller. Subsequently,
Miles was charged by his father with developing the international interests
of the firm. This he did with outstanding success and became first Sales and
Marketing Director and later Chairman, a role he retained until retirement
in 1997. Miles was essentially a shy man but with a strong sense of humour
and uncompromising integrity. He had a great love of countryside, the sea and
naval and military history. He was at heart a traditionalist but had a passion
for the benefits that new technologies could bring.
Briony Blackwell
Briony had a lifelong interest in and love of the natural world and chose to
study for a degree in Environmental Biology. Her marriage to Miles Blackwell
was a romance between two traditionally-minded people. She supported Miles
in his work at home and abroad and in the local community. She continued her
interest in environmental matters including the preservation of rare breeds
and running a small flock of Manx Lochtan sheep. Together she and Miles put
much energy into the development of the grounds of their homes. Once Miles
retired, the couple preferred to spend time either at their countryside home
outside Oxford or at their cottage on the Isle of Wight.
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recent grants
Welfare of Farmed Animals
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Compassion in World FarmingDeveloping the capacity of Compassion in World Farming’s Food Business Group Grant of up to £2,340,000 The Trust has awarded its largest ever grant of £2,340,000 to Compassion in World Farming towards the cost of developing the capacity of its Food Business Group over a five-year period. |
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The programme aims to encourage leading UK and European food companies to recognise and respond to the growing need to provide consumers with higher welfare food products. This will enable Compassion in World Farming to make a step-change in its ability to deliver improved welfare for farmed animals in Europe.
To download a copy of the press release regarding the grant and Compassion's major farm animal welfare appeal, please click here http://www.ciwf.org.uk/your_food/food_business_team.aspx
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University of BristolReducing lameness in dairy cattle by implementing existing knowledge Grants totalling up to £751,195 This video clip shows a stockman calmly walking his cows back to pasture after milking. As with other UK dairy herds, some cows (such as the last cow on the left) are showing signs of lameness. This highlights that even the best herdsmen can struggle to avoid lameness. |
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Our grants were awarded to support the University's project which aims to deliver a significant reduction in lameness in dairy cattle in the UK herd working with farmers, veterinary advisers and dairy industry partners to apply scientific knowledge to current commercial systems to prevent and control lameness in dairy cattle.
If you have difficulty playing the video you may need windows media player which is available here (broadband connection recommended)
www.vetschool.bris.ac.uk/research/abw (pop-up
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www.cattle-lameness.org.uk (pop-up
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Farm Animal Welfare Trust (FAWT)Novel commercial broiler genetic selection techniques integrating welfare and production traits Grant up to £1,537,500 |
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Our grant was awarded to an ambitious, large-scale project aiming to develop and test a genetic selection process that focuses on efficient chicken meat production as well as the welfare of the animal and which will ultimately influence breeding. The aim is then to test the results commercially and bring the changes to the marketplace.
The project will be carried out through a partnership with FAI Farms Ltd and the Department of Zoology, Oxford University.
www.faifarms.co.uk (pop-up
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http://users.ox.ac.uk/~snikwad/index.html (pop-up
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Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)Develop and produce a commercially viable system which meets the welfare needs of commercially farmed ducks by providing them with water Grant up to £1,221,068 |
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Our grant will support this ambitious project which aims to work with key players across the food chain to deliver a significant welfare improvement for commercially farmed ducks by ensuring the provision of water facilities that allow proper expression of key natural behaviours. This will be achieved by applying the RSPCA’s ‘problem/solution’ farm animal welfare investment model, which integrates knowledge, industry support and consumer pressure, all of which are necessary to achieve real change in the food industry.
www.rspca.org.uk (pop-up window)
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Compassion in World Farming (CIWF)
Core and business planning costs for the Farmed Animal Welfare (FAW)
Forum
Grants totalling up to £616,964
The Trust has facilitated the creation of the FAW Forum, an informal forum consisting of influential farmed animal welfare organisations, scientists concerned with improving farmed animal welfare, and representatives of the food industry and certifying bodies. Compassion in World Farming is responsible for managing the grant for the FAW Forum.
The FAW Forum has developed a working document for a co-ordinated 10 year strategic plan to effect large-scale, long-term and sustainable improvements in the welfare of farmed animals. As part of the 10 year plan, the Forum members have identified a FAW Charter as one of the ways of working collectively to achieve the Forum's mission.
There are two main goals that the Charter will serve:
- First, to achieve sign-up by food and farming businesses operating in the UK to a Charter of principles recognising publicly that farmed animal welfare is an issue of importance.
- To encourage specific change against the priority farmed animal welfare issues identified in the Forum's 10 year plan.
To download a copy of the Forum’s 10 year strategic plan, please click here Forum’s 10 year strategic plan. Please send any comments and suggestions on the strategic plan directly to Roland Bonney. roland.bonney@faifarms.co.uk
Our grants provide support for the development of the Farmed Animal Welfare Forum, in the form of core and business planning costs, in order to strengthen the Forum for the future.
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University of BristolReducing injurious pecking amongst layer hens by implementing
existing knowledge. Grant up to £868,295 |
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Our grant was awarded to a large-scale project designed to make a quantifiable reduction in injurious pecking amongst the UK’s estimated 30 million laying hens. The project proposes to utilise existing knowledge to develop a practical, cost effective husbandry advisory package which will be made available to egg producers and their advisors, and will identify the most appropriate husbandry solutions for each individual farm.
The project is led by the world-renowned Animal Behaviour and Welfare Group at the University of Bristol, recognised as a centre of excellence in animal welfare. Partners include key and influential players in the poultry industry as study participants and steering group members.
www.vetschool.bris.ac.uk/research/abw (pop-up
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World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA)Towards a global campaign against the long distance transport of animals for slaughter. Grants totalling up to £400,000 |
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The WSPA is the world’s largest federation of animal welfare societies and works to raise the standards for animal welfare throughout the world.
Our grants were awarded towards the cost of WSPA's global campaign against the long distance transport of animals for slaughter. WSPA is coordinating this international coalition of 8 leading, reputable and experienced animal welfare organisations.
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Conservation of the Natural Environment
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Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)Acquisition and restoration of the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland. Grant up to £1,000,000 |
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Our grant has supported the purchase and restoration of land in an area of the UK that forms one of the largest and most intact blanket bogs in the world. The peatlands are of international conservation importance, including rare bog types and plant communities still actively developing since the last ice age, some of which are unknown elsewhere. The peatlands have been damaged by forestry planting and associated drainage. The RSPB has acquired priority areas for landscape-scale habitat restoration. Blanket bog is a priority habitat under the UK BAP. UK BAP priority species that benefit include the common scoter, Arctic skua, black-throated diver, skylark, water vole and otter.
www.rspb.org.uk (pop-up window)
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Pond ConservationTowards the creation of networks of high quality ponds. Grant of up to £649,634 |
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Our grant was awarded to support strategic work to create 5,000 new ponds across England and Wales contributing towards the new UK Pond Habitat Action Plan. As well as the habitat benefits, the project will work with major landowners and specialist NGOs to create ponds for specific UK BAP priority species including slender stonewort, marsh clubmoss, starfruit, white-clawed crayfish, tadpole shrimp, mud snail, great crested newt, natterjack toad, tree sparrow and soprano pipistrelle.
www.pondconservation.org.uk (pop-up window)
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Sussex Wildlife TrustTowards the “Conservation of A Living Landscape in the West Weald” project. Grant up to 246,353 |
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Our grant was awarded to support a landscape-scale vision focused on enhanced conservation of internationally important forest areas in the West Weald, combined with targeted management of the wider landscape by private landowners and farmers to provide habitats and improve connections for wildlife. Using detailed survey knowledge and new research, sympathetic management of woodland and farmland will be supported, including the creation and restoration of connecting woodland corridors, to further the conservation of the two priority woodland bat species of Bechstein’s and barbastelle as well as other UK BAP priority species such as the wood white butterfly, dormouse and lesser spotted woodpecker.
www.sussexwt.org.uk (pop-up window)
www.westweald.org.uk (pop-up window)
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Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation TrustTowards the “Stepping stones for wildlife: developing a network of invertebrate reserves in Essex” project. Grant up to £187,864 |
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Our grant will help to support the creation of a sustainable network of habitats for priority invertebrates by improving the management of brownfield sites, now included within the UK BAP priority habitat of “open mosaic habitats on previously developed land”. This will be achieved by the implementation of carefully-designed features in nature reserves and open spaces, providing the conditions required by the target species and by developing best practice guidance for habitat management and site protection of these fragile but key sites.
www.buglife.org.uk (pop-up window)
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Plantlife International - The Wild Plant Conservation CharityTowards the “Securing the Future of Priority Species in Important Arable Plant Areas” project. Grant up to £77,206 |
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Our grant was awarded to support work with farmers to promote and encourage cultivated field margins and low input in-field options contributing towards the targets for the UK BAP priority habitat of arable field margins and 26 UK BAP priority arable plant species.
http://www.plantlife.org.uk (pop-up window)
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Chillingham Wild Cattle AssociationTowards habitat and species protection and biodiversity enhancement at Chillingham Park. Grant up to £41,500 |
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Our grant will support significant restoration works at Chillingham Park in Northumberland. The ancient parkland contains a number of UK BAP priority habitats. As well as the predominant wood pasture and parkland, the site also contains upland heath, rivers and streams, and lowland raised bog habitats. The restoration will increase the number of native trees and improve the floristic richness of the sward benefiting UK BAP priority species including spotted flycatcher, bullfinch, song thrush, brown hare and juniper.
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past grants
To download a list of grants made in the year ending March 2010
please click here past
grants 2010 (pdf 44k)
To download a list of grants made in the year ending March 2009
please click here past
grants 2009 (pdf 36k)
To download a list of grants made in the year ending March 2008
please click here past
grants 2008 (pdf 44k)
To download a list of grants made in the year ending March 2007
please click here past
grants 2007 (pdf 40k)
To download a list of grants made in the year ending March 2006
please click here past
grants 2006 (pdf 28k)
To download a list of grants made in the year ending March 2005
please click here past grants 2005 (pdf 20k)
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© The Tubney Charitable Trust - Registered Charity
Number 1061480 - Tel : +44 (0)118 958 6100