Evaluation Report Attendance Approx. 3,091

With feedback from 208 attendees giving a response rate of 7% OuseFest Opening Event at WWT Welney Wetland Centre OuseFest Mepal Fun Day Double click for video!

OuseFest at Denver Sluice Marketing – Target Audiences

Target Audience Evidence Local people 96% of attendees lived locally Families, parents & children 33% of attendees were families Volunteers 56% says OuseFest has increased their awareness of local volunteering opportunities Visitors to the area 4% of attendees were visitors Media Picked up and promoted by Ely News, Ely Standard, Cambs Times, News, EDP, Standard, Lynn News, BBC Radio , BBC Look East, BBC Radio Norfolk Influencers Promoted by Parish Newsletters, Partners, Local Businesses, Sue Marchant, Francis Pryor, Local Secrets, Eastlife, Spotted in Ely, HLF, Local TICs, NE Cambs Labour, NE Cambs Greens Marketing

Marketing activity People reached

Display board Stalls at 6 local events – approx. attendance 13,000 Distributed programmes and personally spoke to approx. 730 people Displays in libraries 1 display upstairs, 1 display downstairs 480 leaflets and programmes distributed Competitions 80 entrants to Snap the Ouse Competition At least 55% of traffic to our website in June was due to the competition. Website OWLP website saw a 230% increase in views in June and July. In the quarter from May – August, top pages viewed were the Homepage (5,568), Snap the Ouse Competition pages (4,381) and OuseFest 2015 (3,087). Blog 30 posts between May and August to 199 subscribers 946 blog post views Twitter As of August 2015 @OuseFest has 404 followers 543 tweets with 162 using #OuseFest2015 213 (39%) retweets and 160 (29%) favourited Facebook During OuseFest we had: 123 page views (116% increase) 302 people were talking about us (655% increase) Total reach was 2,595 (380% increase) Posters At least 126 were distributed across the Ouse Washes Flyers At least 2,500 were distributed across the Ouse Washes Programme Booklet At least 12,500 were distributed across at least 189 venues Email Frequent Partner emails were sent for distribution

Marketing

Marketing activity Measure of success

Parish Newsletters Articles were sent to 40 Parish Newsletter Editors

Press Releases 8 Press Releases were sent about OuseFest and Snap the Ouse Competition 27 articles published about OuseFest and Snap the Ouse Competition Adverts 14 paid ads went out in local publications and newspapers Library eNewsletter 70,000 subscribers Cambridgeshire ACRE eNewsletter 1,295 subscribers

School Book Bags 3 schools agreed and were sent leaflets Council Tourism Guides Article in Cambridgeshire Fens Visitor & Accommodation Guide 2015 Mention in West Norfolk Holiday Guide 2015 Council Tourism Websites Listings on Visit Cambridge, King’s Lynn & West Norfolk and East Cambs Local Secrets article 2 articles TV 2 minute piece on BBC Look East including interviews with Mark Nokkert, Adam Finch (WWT Welney) and Sara Marshall Radio Interviews included: Sara Marshall on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (OuseFest) Sara Marshall on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (OuseFest) Kirsten Bennett on BBC Radio Norfolk (The Fenland Ark) Peter Taylor on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (Open Churches Trail) Chris Evans on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (Flat Earth Trials) Emma Brand on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (WWT Welney)

Marketing – How attendees heard about OuseFest

OuseFest Programme 43% Local newspaper 22% Word of mouth 20% Facebook 17% Leaflet 12% Local library 11% OWLP website 9% Email 7% Other website 7% Local event or fair 6% Parish Newsletter 6% Poster 6% Ouse News 4% Cambridgeshire ACRE newsletter 4% Twitter 2% School 2% RSPB Ouse Washes Discovery Day

Ouse Washes Experience Prickwillow Engine Museum Fun Day

Old Riverport St Ives Discovery Day

RSPB Ouse Washes Discovery Prickwillow Engine Day WWT Walk on the Washes Museum Fun Day Stories & Stitching, Waterways & Journeys

Words on Water Poetry Readings

Writing the Fens: An Evening with Jim Kelly, Jill WWT Wildlife Green Screen Dawson & Alison Bruce Satisfaction

Mean Rating

Satisfaction with event 14 79 4.7

Likelihood to attend OuseFest 2016 23 72 4.6

Likelihood to recommend OuseFest 27 68 4.6

Likelihood to visit Ouse Washes Landscape 4.7 again 13 83

Extremely negative 1 2 3 4 5 Extremely positive OuseFest… Partner Agreement

Made you more aware of the Ouse Washes Landscape and local heritage 89 95%

Made you appreciate the Ouse Washes 100% Landscape and local heritage more 94

Encouraged you to get involved with the Ouse 70% Washes Landscape and local heritage 80

Helped you feel part of local heritage and community 92 76%

Made you more aware of local community groups and organisations 80 85%

Increased your awareness of volunteering opportunities in the area 56 45%

No Yes The Catching, Cooking & Eating of Eels Installation

Manea Pit Launch Day WWT How to Film Wildlife Workshop

Drainage of the Fens Talk Archaeology for All in Hilgay What did you like about OuseFest? Improved my Very well organised. Really well understanding of Didn't appreciate organised, unusual, the topic, how much is in the diverse, great fun, increased my area despite living opportunity to do interest here all my life something new Varied with Variety of Brought back amazingly events and Community memories - united dedicated and interesting feel people from other friendly people. topics villages Learnt a lot Different Tour of sluice was interesting subjects in Meeting new and humorous. Trip on the interesting people, river was brilliant, narrative locations learning about about catching and eating eels area, seeing new places interesting, learnt some Getting the Lithuanian in the Rosmini tent - kids outside it was all lovely! with nature What did you like about OuseFest? What would you like to see more of

at OuseFest 2016? More Microphone for poetry speakers and more workshops local advertising, i.e. posters in village History of Evening traditional workshops or crafts of the Sunday workshops More More river- Fens - we're not all arts based retired you know! events! events Improved Other village On Mepal Fun Day: website history walks, e.g. More spaces for Fenstanton, Fen scheduled activities and Drayton, St Ives, make it clearer that we Repeat Over, Willingham have to arrive earlier to Denver secure booking Walking Tours Alison Bruce at Downham Market North Swavesey History Walk Library Denver Walking Tour

Isle of Ely Open Churches Trail The Fenland Ark Talk General comments

Best event I have Really excited to see how it attended since moving grows in coming years and very to the Fens in 1995. I impressed with the dedication have been to a different and knowledge of everyone event every single day! running it. Good publicity as well and online stuff

Brilliant way to educate It's a fabulous people about this important resource right on our Fenland landscape and how doorsteps, and it was it is managed. It should form a truly excellent series part of the school of events. Well done curriculum! everyone at OWLP! This is an excellent In addition, 86% of partners are celebration - interested in holding a similar event please, please for OuseFest 2016 and beyond! do it again! Attendance - Demographics

Disability Gender 9%

Yes 39% Female No 61% Male 91% Age 42%

21% 20% 15%

1% 1% 1% Attendance - Demographics Socio-economic group 31%

18% 15% 17% 9% 9% 1% 1% Ethnicity 96%

2% 2% 1% Attendance – Local vs visitors 4%

21% From Cambridgeshire From Norfolk

75% Visiting

Those visiting attended OuseFest at Denver Sluice and the Fen Speak Poetry events. They mainly found out about OuseFest online. Attendance – Group nature

The average group size was 2.5

33%

23% 22% 19%

3%

Just you Family Couple Group of Other friends Recommendations for 2016

• Attract more visitors through online advertising • Focus on marketing that worked well; OuseFest Programme distribution in villages, local newspapers and Facebook • Village guided walks and history talks proved very popular • Fenland arts, crafts and poetry events were very well received and there’s clearly thirst for more • Develop more river/water based events • Denver Walking Tours were very popular – repeat next year • Consider timing of events – evening workshops and talks proved popular