Help Life for a Life to get a water bowser!

Aim

We are raising funds for a water bowser to help protect Memorial Forests from wildfires & drought, ensuring they can thrive for generations.

We need your help! Memorial Trees are at risk during wildfires and droughts; a water bowser can help us to fight back.

Memorial Trees are more than just trees. They are living tributes to loved ones, planted by families as a lasting place of remembrance. But as wildfires and prolonged periods of drought become more common, these special places could be increasingly under threat and we want to be prepared for the future.

During the recent wildfire at Dove Stone reservoir, we found ourselves in a tough spot - with two sizable Memorial Forests in the area we had a responsibility to protect the Memorial Trees, each dedicated to the memory of loved ones. 

We had the equipment to cut a fuel break into the surrounding vegetation, however this alone was only half the battle; to really protect the Memorial Forests, we also needed to soak the fuel break with water, and we didn't have a reliable way to transport the sheer amount of water needed to hydrate the bone-dry ground.

Thankfully, our friends at Northern Roots stepped in and kindly loaned us their water bowser. This allowed us to soak the fuel breaks, significantly increasing their effectiveness and helping safeguard the Memorial Forests during a critical time.

That experience highlighted just how important this equipment is.

To better prepare for any future heatwaves, we are now fundraising to purchase our own water bowser, and we'd love your help! 

As a not-for-profit Charity based in the North-West, we're closely tied to many communities, and bring value by nurturing local green spaces, while offering grieving families with a place to remember loved ones by planting Memorial Trees dedicated to and celebrating their memory. With this water bowser, we will continue to bring value to these communities by utilising this equipment in our daily operations, both by using it to water our newly-planted Memorial Trees, as well as using it to protect these green spaces from any future droughts and wildfires.

What is a water bowser?

While it may look quite simple, this important piece of equipment will allow our grounds team to quickly and efficiently transport large amounts of water across our Memorial Forests; the bowser holds a large water tank on a rugged chassis and has an engine and pump to pressurise the water tank, meaning that we can use it to fight future wildfires. 

The bowser we borrowed was a massive help during our time in need, but we came to realise that it wasn't tough enough for all our needs - it had to be sturdy to tackle the variety of difficult terrains at all of our Memorial Forests, hold enough water to reduce the amount of time spent refilling and, most importantly, we had to be able to tow it from site-to-site, without the need for a trailer.

The bowser that we aim to purchase will allow us to proactively soak vegetation and provide our team with a quick way to water Memorial Trees during regular maintenance visits to our 60+ locations across the country.

As an environmentally conscious Charity, we will use sustainable water sources wherever possible, including harvested rainwater, onsite water, and local water supplies, ensuring that this investment benefits both people and nature.

How can you help? 

This is quite a pricey piece of kit, so we're calling on the help from the wonderful community that we've grown over the past 27 years.

The water bowser costs £4,800, so we hope that by starting our fundraising now, we should be well-prepared for whatever Spring 2027 can throw at us! 

We understand that this may seem quite expensive, as some of the more basic models can be much cheaper, but we want to make sure that this is a purchase that will last. With a lifespan of an estimated 20 years (possibly more), this brings the cost down to £240 per year, or less than 70p per day! 

If you're unable to donate, you can still make a huge difference by sharing this fundraiser with your friends, family, and wider community. Whether you have a Memorial Tree with us, enjoy the green spaces we care for, or simply want to help protect local woodlands from the growing threat of wildfire and droughts, your support means the world to us.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 15th December 2026 at 11:52am