The Wildlife Trusts
Predecessor | The Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves |
---|---|
Formation | 1912 |
Type | Charitable trust |
Registration no. | 207238 |
Location |
|
President | Liz Bonnin |
Chairman | Duncan Ingram |
Chief Executive | Craig Bennett |
Website | www |
The Wildlife Trusts, the trading name of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, is an organisation made up of 46 local Wildlife Trusts in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and Alderney. The Wildlife Trusts, between them, look after more than 2,300 nature reserves, covering around 98,500 hectares (243,000 acres). As of 2020[update], the Trusts have a combined membership of over 870,000 members.[1]
The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) is an independent charity,
Activities
Wildlife Trusts are local organisations of differing size, history and origins, and can vary greatly in their constitution, activities and membership. However, all Wildlife Trusts share a common interest in wildlife and biodiversity, rooted in a practical tradition of land management and conservation. Almost all Wildlife Trusts are significant landowners, with many nature reserves. Collectively they are the third largest voluntary sector landowners in the UK. They often have extensive educational activities, and programmes of public events and education. The Wildlife Trusts centrally and locally also lobby for better protection of the UK's natural heritage, by becoming involved in planning matters and by national campaigning through the
The Wildlife Trusts offer a Biodiversity Benchmark scheme through which companies can be assessed and recognised for their contribution to biodiversity. The assessment covers the organisation's performance under the headings of "Commitment, Planning, Implementation, and Monitoring and Review".[9]
The Wildlife Trusts are one of the steering group partners of Neighbourhoods Green, a partnership initiative which works with social landlords and housing associations to highlight the importance of, and raise the overall quality of design and management for, open and green space in social housing.[10]
Kathryn Brown OBE was appointed as the charity’s first director of climate action in January 2022.[11]
History
Today's Wildlife Trust movement began life as The Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves (SPNR), which was formed by
Encouraged by the growing number of Trusts, the SPNR began in 1957 to discuss the possibility of forming a national federation of Naturalists' Trusts. Kent Naturalists Trust was established in 1958 with SPNR being active in encouraging its formation. In the following year the SPNR established the County Naturalists' Committee, which organised the first national conference for Naturalists' Trusts at Skegness in 1960.[16] By 1964, the number of Trusts had increased to 36 and the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves had changed its name to The Society for the Promotion of Nature Conservation.[17] In recognition of the movement's growing importance, its name was changed to The Royal Society for Nature Conservation in 1981.
The movement continued to develop throughout the 1970s, and, by the early 1980s, most of today's Trusts had been established. In 1980, the first urban Wildlife Trust (now the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country) was established in the West Midlands,[18] rapidly followed by others in London, Bristol and Sheffield. This was a watershed for the movement that strengthened its focus on wildlife and people. It was during this period that some Trusts changed their names from Naturalist Societies to Trusts for Nature Conservation. In 2002 the group changed their name to The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. The badger logo was adopted by the movement to establish its common identity. Also in 2002, the newest wildlife trust was formed, in Alderney.
As the number of Trusts grew, so did their combined membership, from 3,000 in 1960 to 21,000 in 1965. Membership topped 100,000 in 1975, and in that year Wildlife Watch was launched as a children's naturalist club. By the late 1980s membership had reached 200,000, increasing to 260,000 in 1995, and over 500,000 by 2004. The combined membership for 2007 stood at 670,000 members, 108,000 belonging to the junior branch Wildlife Watch.
By 2012, membership was over 800,000, with over 150,000 Wildlife Watch members.[3]
List of Wildlife Trusts
- Alderney Wildlife Trust
- Avon Wildlife Trust
- Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
- Cheshire Wildlife Trust
- Cornwall Wildlife Trust
- Cumbria Wildlife Trust
- Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
- Devon Wildlife Trust
- Dorset Wildlife Trust
- Durham Wildlife Trust
- Essex Wildlife Trust
- Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust
- Gwent Wildlife Trust, Wales
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
- Herefordshire Wildlife Trust
- Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust
- Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust
- Kent Wildlife Trust
- Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust
- Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
- London Wildlife Trust
- Manx Wildlife Trust / Treisht Bea-Feie Vannin
- Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust
- Norfolk Wildlife Trust
- North Wales Wildlife Trust
- Northumberland Wildlife Trust
- Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust
- Radnorshire Wildlife Trust
- Scottish Wildlife Trust
- Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust
- Shropshire Wildlife Trust
- Somerset Wildlife Trust
- Staffordshire Wildlife Trust
- Suffolk Wildlife Trust
- Surrey Wildlife Trust
- Sussex Wildlife Trust
- Tees Valley Wildlife Trust
- Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire
- Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country
- Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside
- Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales
- Ulster Wildlife Trust
- Warwickshire Wildlife Trust
- Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
- Worcestershire Wildlife Trust
- Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
See also
References
- ^ "About". The Wildlife Trusts. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ The Charity Commission, Charity 20738
- ^ a b c "How we are run". The Wildlife Trusts. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "David Bellamy - a tribute from The Wildlife Trusts". www.wildlifetrusts.org. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "How we are run | The Wildlife Trusts". www.wildlifetrusts.org. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "New leader for The Wildlife Trusts – environmental campaigner Craig Bennett | The Wildlife Trusts". www.wildlifetrusts.org. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ New leader for The Wildlife Trusts rarebirdalert.co.uk accessed 14 December 2019
- ^ Full list of NCVYS members Archived May 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Biodiversity Benchmark". The Wildlife Trusts. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ Neighbourhoods Green Partners, Natural England Website.
- ^ "Kathryn Brown appointed director for climate action at The Wildlife Trusts | The Wildlife Trusts". www.wildlifetrusts.org. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ Juniper, Tony (16 May 2012). "Charles Rothschild's incredible legacy on the Wildlife Trust's 100th birthday". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "Charles Rothschild: The banker who changed the world for good". The Independent. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "The Rothschild Reserves". The Wildlife Trusts. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- ^ "History". Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ISBN 1136533893.
- ^ Barkham, Patrick (25 September 2015). "Ted Smith Obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ^ "Our History". Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and Black Country. Retrieved 2 July 2020.