Our Cause

A Call to Action

Scientific and other scholarly reports over the decades on the state of our natural world have become increasingly alarming and calling for action to protect our environment to make it more resilient to climate change before habitats and ecosystems become irreparably damaged and once common species become extinct. 

That time has already arrived as the publication on 27 September 2023 of the landmark report State of Nature 2023 shows that:

• The UK is now one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth.
• The abundance of all UK species studied has declined on average by 19% since 1970.
• 16% (one in six) of 10,000 species assessed are at risk of being lost from the UK
• This figure is much higher for some groups, such as birds (43%), amphibians and reptiles (31%), fungi and lichen (28%) and terrestrial mammals (26%). 
• The distribution of pollinators, including bees, hoverflies and moths, has decreased by 18% on average, while species providing pest control, such as the 2-spot ladybird, have declined by 34%.  

Halting and reversing biodiversity decline is vital, says the report, but it is only the first step towards a healthy environment with resilient species populations, thriving habitats and functioning ecosystems.

So, there is much work to do - in the world, in the UK and in the Goring Gap. Beautiful as it is, our local environment is subject to the same climatic and other environmental pressures such as loss of habitats, pollution and other man-made interventions.

The Goring Gap Environmental Organisation (GGEO) became a registered charity on 13 January 2022 (Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Foundation Model, Number 1197496) and has taken on the responsibility to do what it can locally in the Goring Gap to make its contribution to protecting, and enhancing, nature.

GGEO’s cause and mission statement are embodied in the Charitable Objects stated in the governing document: 

For the public benefit in the area known as the Goring Gap (primarily in and around the adjacent villages of Goring-on-Thames in Oxfordshire and Streatley-on-Thames in Berkshire), to:

1) Promote the conservation of flora, fauna and the environment generally, and

2) Advance education of the public in relation to such conservation.

In practice, this means:

• Striving to increase biodiversity in our local fauna and flora
• Increasing the number, size and quality of terrestrial and aquatic habitats
• To monitor the quality of the river Thames and work to improve it
• In addition, as climate change is probably the biggest overall threat to wildlife
• To help build resilience to climate change by practical and educational means
• To provide information on how modifications to land use and lifestyle can help reduce carbon emissions and increase carbon sequestration

Some of the conservation projects we aim to undertake or are currently underway, can be seen in the Get Involved section. We would be interested in hearing your views as to which other projects you feel would be worth considering to meet our overall aims.

GGEO has a written constitution and usually has five trustees, along with a number of local volunteers who have expressed an interest in working on the various projects undertaken by GGEO. 

The trustees are listed on the Charity Commission website.

GGEO was supported by a start-up grant in 2021 from the Mend the Gap enhancement programme.