Ness Gardens - (Agnes Lois Bulley Trust)

The Ness Gardens (Agnes Lois Bulley Trust) is a specialist charitable endowment established through the 1948 bequest of Lois Agnes Bulley to the University of Liverpool, preserving the Ness Botanic Gardens founded by her father Arthur Kilpin Bulley in 1898. Its core mission is to maintain the gardens as an accessible public park and flower garden for enjoyment, education, and public benefit, embodying values of inclusivity, environmental stewardship, horticultural excellence, and scientific advancement. Distinctively, it integrates with the University to foster botanical research, conservation, and public engagement, ensuring perpetual open access to this regional gem in Wirral.

The Trust exclusively funds the operation, maintenance, improvement, and educational programmes of Ness Botanic Gardens, prioritising environmental conservation, plant science, biodiversity (e.g., National Collections of Sorbus and birch), sustainable gardening, bio-diverse habitats, and initiatives like the Hedgehog Friendly Campus. Support covers core revenue for upkeep of greenhouses, landscapes, and facilities, plus enhancements for public outreach, volunteer programmes, and research, with the public as primary beneficiaries through passive enjoyment and active learning.

Eligibility is highly restricted: solely the University of Liverpool as beneficiary and steward; no unsolicited applications from external charities, organisations, or individuals. Geographically limited to Ness Gardens in Wirral (serving Cheshire West, Merseyside, Cheshire, and North West England). Annual grants of £150,000–£350,000 are transferred internally per the Trust's financial year (ending 31 July), aligned with University budgeting—no open deadlines, application processes, or external opportunities.

Unlike broader environmental funders, it excludes all external grants, project-specific funding beyond Ness, or support for people/communities directly, standing out as a singular, place-based endowment laser-focused on one institution's horticultural legacy.