The Ouse Burn Way
With support from the Reece Foundation, NHSN is increasing wildlife recording, creating community loops and delivering activities along the Ouse Burn. Join us in bringing the Ouse Burn Way to life through wildlife surveys, citizen science, volunteering and events that celebrate this remarkable wildlife corridor.
Connecting Communities & Nature Along the Ouse Burn
NHSN is helping to bring the Ouse Burn Way to life through wildlife recording and community events that help people experience nature along this vital green corridor. From guided walks and hands-on surveys to family-friendly activities, we’re helping people discover and connect with local nature while contributing to its conservation.
From the Lower Ouseburn Valley to Woolsington, Heaton to Great Park, there are lots of ways to join in, record wildlife and champion nature where you live along one of Newcastle’s most important waterways.
What is the Ouse Burn Way?
The Ouse Burn Way is a vision of a green corridor stretching from the River Tyne at Ouseburn to Weetslade Country Park and the Letch in Longbenton. It aims to connect communities and bring people closer to nature, creating a space where wildlife can thrive, and local people can enjoy and explore the natural world on their doorstep.
Share Your Wildlife Sightings
Every wildlife record counts. By recording the plants, animals and fungi you find along the Ouse Burn, you’re helping build a better understanding of this important urban wildlife corridor.
Your observations provide valuable evidence that can inform conservation action, guide future management and demonstrate the importance of the Ouse Burn for wildlife. Whether you’re an experienced biological recorder or simply sharing your first sighting, every record makes a difference.
Share your sightings on iRecord or iNaturalist today and help uncover the Ouse Burn’s wildlife, one record at a time.
Join an Activity Near You
Whether you live, work or spend time along the Ouse Burn, there are plenty of opportunities to discover and enjoy nature in this important urban wildlife corridor.
Throughout the year, we run a varied programme of guided walks, wildlife surveys, family-friendly activities and volunteering opportunities, helping people connect with nature while contributing to our understanding of local wildlife.
Whether you’re taking your first steps into natural history or already have plenty of experience, there’s something for everyone. Join us to explore the Ouse Burn, meet like-minded people, develop your wildlife knowledge and play a part in protecting this special place.
Discover Gosforth Nature Reserve
NHSN’s Gosforth Nature Reserve is the most wildlife-rich site along the Ouse Burn, providing a haven for nature and a place where people can connect with the natural world. Whether you’re visiting with friends, family or colleagues, everyone is welcome to explore and enjoy the reserve.
We’re also keen to work with community groups, businesses and schools that share our passion for local wildlife. If you’d like to arrange a group visit, volunteering day or team away day, we’d love to hear from you.
Small Grants
Have an idea to improve your local environment? We offer small grants to help community groups create better places for people and wildlife along the Ouse Burn.
Whether you’re planting wildflowers, creating wildlife habitats, improving a community space or running a local nature project, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch to find out if your idea could be supported.
Newsletter
Interested in getting involved? Want to learn more about the Ouse Burn and the fantastic wildlife found along its banks?
Sign up for NHSN’s Ouse Burn Way newsletter to receive the latest events, volunteering opportunities and recording activities straight to your inbox.
You’ll also discover recent wildlife sightings, project updates and ways to get involved throughout the year.
Seasonal Wildlife Highlights
Newcastle’s wildlife corridor is home to a surprising diversity of life. From beautiful orchids and rare butterflies to birds, mammals and a fascinating array of insects, there’s always something to discover throughout the year.
Purple Hairstreak
Often overlooked because it spends its life high in mature oak trees, this tiny butterfly can be seen dancing above the canopy on warm summer evenings.
Broad-leaved Helleborine
One of Britain’s commonest orchids, this elegant woodland flower thrives in the shady woods and riverside paths of the Ouse Burn.
Emperor Dragonfly
Britain’s largest dragonfly, this powerful aerial hunter patrols ponds and slow-moving stretches of the Ouse Burn throughout the summer.
The Ouse Burn Wildlife Corridor
The Ouse Burn forms part of Newcastle’s strategic wildlife corridor, a vital network of rivers, parks, woodlands and nature reserves stretching from the River Tyne to Weetslade Country Park, and west to Woolsington.
Linking the regenerated Lower Ouseburn Valley with historic Victorian parks, Gosforth Nature Reserve and the city’s outer green spaces, it provides a vital route for wildlife to move through the landscape.
Nature for everyone
The Ouse Burn Way is more than a wildlife corridor. It is a place where people can walk, explore, learn new skills and experience nature close to home. By bringing together communities and green spaces, it helps improve wellbeing while inspiring more people to value and care for the wildlife on their doorstep.
Your sightings matter
Every wildlife record helps us better understand the Ouse Burn’s remarkable wildlife. By sharing your sightings of plants, animals and fungi, you’ll help us track changes over time, identify places that are important for nature, and provide the evidence needed to guide conservation and habitat management across this vital urban wildlife corridor.
Taking place throughout the year, targeted wildlife surveys, delivered by NHSN naturalists, will provide further evidence to help decision-makers protect this vital pathway.
The Latest from The Ouse Burn Way
Explore updates, helpful blogs and exciting discoveries made along the Ouse Burn. There’ll be many more to come!
