Power in Partnership Award 2009 - Northumbrian Water

Northern Kites is the Project that has successfully returned wild red kites to the region’s skies after an absence of more than 170 years.

It is managed by Natural England and the RSPB, working in partnership with Northumbrian Water, Gateshead Council, the National Trust and the Forestry Commission, with additional funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and SITA Trust.  Northern Kites was set up in 2004 to establish a population of red kites in northern England and it has become not only Britain’s most successful project of its kind but also the highest profile wildlife project in the northeast, ever!

The Northern Kites’ story has become part of the fabric of local life – thanks largely to the positive, “can-do” approach of the Northern Kites Partnership, its team of staff, legion of volunteers and the people of the northeast, who have taken the birds to their hearts.