James Carr, OBE established the Moorhouse Trust Grassroots Fund in 2010. He worked tirelessly for the Community Foundation, and as trustee saw the county through the floods of 2005 and 2009. He received an OBE for services to conservation, education and the community in this years New Year Honours.

The Moorhouse Trust Grassroots Fund supports conservation, environmental and educational projects in North Cumbria. James gained much pleasure from the grants made through the fund. His philanthropy was driven by a love of rivers, fishing and the natural environment. He particularly enjoyed being able to direct grants to projects that help people appreciate and value the natural habitats of our rivers and their catchments.

The Eden Fisheries Plan was formed by a steering group made up of River Eden District Fisheries Association, Eden Rivers Trust, the Environment Agency and Natural England. The plan aims to protect and develop wild, self-sustaining fish populations so that it can continue to be enjoyed by future generations of people.

Eden Rivers Trust (ERT) has received grants from the fund over  years. The money has contributed to various projects, including the Cherish Eden project, where the Trust worked with local youth groups in the more disadvantaged areas of Eden. The sessions incorporated photography as a focus to engage young people to explore perceptions of the river, raise awareness and develop local opportunities for voluntary conservation activities.

Andy Beeforth, Chief Executive of the Foundation, said: “When James was Chairman, he often remarked about the large numbers of truly inspirational people he met who were leading unique projects in their local communities. People whose passion and dedication could simply not be measured and whose efforts often went unknown outside their immediate communities. It is these people that the Foundation supports and for whom James had the greatest admiration.”