One of the reasons why Wicken Fen has such a diverse and important range of rare species is because it is one of the only remaining fragments of fenland wilderness that once spanned East Anglia. Less than 0.1% remains in its original state. Over the centuries the fens have been drained to make way for intensive farming practices, which have had a catastrophic effect on biodiversity. Wicken Fen has escaped the intensive drainage regimes that have altered so much of the surrounding countryside because it has been under the protection of the National Trust since 1902. Since acquiring its first hectare of land at Wicken Fen, the National Trust has strategically expanded the reserve through fifty-eight different conveyances to encompass over 666 hectares. As a result, Wicken Fen represents an oasis for fenland wildlife in an otherwise dry and inhospitable environment. Wicken Fen is also a well used recreational resource, with over 45,000 people visiting the reserve each year. It is a popular choice for schools with over 5,000 pupils visiting the reserve in 2005. It is also an important site for academic research and staff and students from the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University regularly use the site for their research. Well over one hundred scientific papers have been published based in whole or in part by research carried out at Wicken Fen. Volunteers also play an important role in the management of Wicken Fen and contribute significantly towards the management, monitoring and conservation of the reserve. However, Wicken Fen is still too small and isolated to support sustainable populations of many of its rare species. To address the challenges facing Wicken Fen, the National Trust embarked on an ambitious and exciting vision in 1999 to expand the reserve by ten fold. This ‘landscape’ scale vision will be achieved by purchasing 3,500 hectares of farmland to the south west of the reserve and restoring it to wetland. The Wicken Fen Vision is considered the most important long term nature conservation project in the National Trust. To achieve this ambitious Vision the National Trust has given the project a 100 year time scale. This will enable the National Trust to buy land as and when it becomes available and when ‘market price’ can be negotiated. It will also allow sufficient time to raise the much needed funds required to purchase the land and undertake the capital works required to restore it to wetland. Since the launch of the Vision in 1999, the National Trust has successfully completed four strategic acquisitions totalling 314 hectares. This has almost doubled the size of reserve in six years. However to secure the long future of Wicken Fen, land acquisition and restoration on this scale must continue. Your gift will help to ensure this is possible.