The Wildlife Trusts

The Wildlife Trusts are all about local wildlife conservation.  There are 47 individual Wildlife Trusts covering every part of the UK, the Isle of Man and Alderney - which means there will be one looking after wildlife and wild places near you, wherever you live.

We have more than 2,250 nature reserves, looking after all the wildlife habitats found in the UK, including wildflower meadows, ancient woodlands, lakes, moors, hills, heaths, estuaries and beaches. They are fantastic places for you and your family to explore and enjoy local wildlife.  Some of the largest reserves have visitor centres and your school could be one of the thousands that visit us every year.

We also work with farmers and business to help them improve their land for wildlife.  We call this creating ‘A Living Landscape’ where people can see wildlife everywhere and not just in nature reserves where wildlife has special protection. To help make this possible we are making our own nature reserves bigger and better and joining them up where we can.

Because marine wildlife is hidden by the sea, we know less about sea life than wildlife on land.  Our surveys are collecting vital information on marine animals and plants which we can use to protect them.  We run National Marine Week every summer where you can take part in hundreds of events round the coast from rockpooling to learning how to spot basking sharks!

You can help protect nature where you live by becoming a member of your local Wildlife Trust.  To find the one nearest you, go to www.wildlifetrusts.org where there’s more information about what we do too.