THE Northmoor Trust, which looks after the Wittenham Clumps beauty spot, is changing its name to the Earth Trust.

In December, the trust struck a £6m deal to almost double the size of Oxfordshire’s most visited open space.

The 700-acre Wittenham Clumps and Little Wittenham Wood benefited from a 500-acre expansion into neighbouring North Farm.

To mark the name change, the trust will hold open days on Friday and Saturday, from 11am to 3pm, at the trust headquarters at Hill Farm, Little Wittenham, to outline its future proposals.

Visitors will be able to enjoy music from bands The Epstein and The Yarns, storytelling, and countryside crafts.

Harry Barton, chief executive of the Northmoor Trust, said: “Changing our name has been a big decision, and an incredibly exciting one.

“Our work is all about persuading people to live greener lifestyles, and we need to reach more people.

“Our new name, Earth Trust, is a much better reflection of who and what we are.

“There has never been a more exciting and challenging time to be working for the future of the natural environment.

“People are far more aware of issues like climate change and wildlife conservation than they were ten years ago, and it’s heartening to see so many communities starting to make changes to their daily lives.

“But there is still a huge task ahead, and we need to get many more people on board. This is what the Earth Trust is all about.”

One new project the Earth Trust is planning is called Connecting Naturally, which will encourage more children from Oxford to visit the countryside.

It said it was hoping to expand its headquarters at Hill Farm to accommodate more school visits.

Graham Scholey, chairman of the Earth Trust, said: “During the past 18 months, we have nearly doubled the amount of land we manage for wildlife and achieved much to be proud of.”

The Northmoor Trust was named after the road where the trust’s patrons, Martin and Audrey Wood, lived when they launched the charity, but it was felt the name no longer reflected the environmental aims of the charity.