RAIN-CHARM House, the new offices of the Westcountry Rivers Trust at Stoke Climsland, were officially opened by the Duke of Gloucester during a naming ceremony in the village last Friday.
The building, a Duchy of Cornwall property, has been named Rain-Charm House in memory of WRT co-founder and former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, who wrote the poem 'Rain Charm for the Duchy' to celebrate the birth of Prince Harry.
The Duke was welcomed on arrival by children from Stoke Climsland Primary School, then escorted into the building and introduced to WRT staff, trustees and guests to gain an insight into the work of this local, environmental charity.
The Duke, escorted by WRT director Dr Dylan Bright, visited the educational marquee where children were taking part in practical educational activities that help them investigate and better understand river life.
The Duke unveiled a commemorative plaque made of Cornish slate and was presented with a book of poems by Ted Hughes by Michael Martin, a founder and former chairman of the Trust.
The Westcountry Rivers Trust was founded by a group of friends, including the late Ted Hughes, Anne Voss Bark, owner of the Arundell Arms Hotel at Lifton, and Michael Martin MBE and others, all of whom were passionate conservationists who cared deeply about the rivers of the West Country.
The Rivers Trust model has now been rolled out across the country with 30 similar trusts throughout the UK and Ireland.
Since its inception, WRT has improved huge swathes of waterside habitat across the region. Recently the Trust has led a landmark Europe-wide research project on tracing salmon survival at sea, using genetic fingerprinting technology.
The work has been recognised by the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO) and the Atlantic Salmon Trust as the cornerstone for the future management of salmon.
The Trust is now pioneering work into the restoration and creation of wetland habitats as a carbon-offsetting tool.
This will be used by local and regional businesses so they can address the impact their company has on the environment by reducing the volume of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and in doing so, tackle local issues of flooding, drought and biodiversity.