The Wildlife Trusts

Overview

The Wildlife Trusts is the UK's largest grassroots network dedicated to protecting and restoring wildlife. What began in 1912 as a small society to protect nature reserves has grown into a movement of 46 independent local trusts, collectively managing some of the most important wildlife sites in the country.

Although the trusts are best known for nature reserve management, many are now leading rewilding projects, from beaver reintroductions and wetland restoration to low-intervention woodland and grassland management. Their scale and public reach make them one of the most influential forces in UK nature recovery.

History & Structure

The movement traces its origins to 1912, when Charles Rothschild founded the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves to protect places of wildlife value from development. Over the following decades, county and regional Wildlife Trusts formed across Britain, eventually becoming the federation that exists today.

Each trust is an independent charity governed by its own board and staff, but they share a common brand, pooled expertise and a central coordinating body, the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. This structure allows national campaigns while keeping decision-making rooted in local landscapes and communities.

Nature Reserves & the 30 by 30 Campaign

Together the Wildlife Trusts manage around 2,300 nature reserves, covering a huge variety of habitats from ancient woodland and lowland heath to salt marsh, peat bog and chalk grassland. These reserves protect rare species, provide outdoor education spaces and act as demonstration sites for nature-friendly land management.

The trusts' headline policy campaign is "30 by 30" - a call for at least 30% of the UK's land and sea to be protected and well-managed for nature by 2030. This goes beyond reserve boundaries, pushing for stronger laws, better agri-environment schemes and landscape-scale habitat connections.

Rewilding Work

Rewilding is not the primary framing of every Wildlife Trust, but it is increasingly part of how the movement operates. Examples include beaver reintroduction projects managed by several trusts, large wetland restoration schemes, rewilding grazing with native breeds, and allowing parts of reserves to develop with minimal human intervention.

The trusts also play a major role in species recovery, monitoring and citizen science. Their reserves produce long-term datasets that show what happens when land is managed primarily for nature, making them valuable partners in national research and policy debates.

How to Support The Wildlife Trusts

Membership is the most common way to support the movement. Because each trust is independent, membership is usually taken out with your local Wildlife Trust, which then uses the funds to manage nearby reserves and run education and conservation programmes.

Most trusts also run free volunteer conservation tasks, guided walks, talks and family events. Donations, legacies and corporate partnerships are also important income streams. You can find your nearest trust at wildlifetrusts.org.

Related Grange Project Content

We discussed the role of Wildlife Trusts in UK nature recovery in Episode 026 of the Wilder Podcast. You can also explore our guides to garden rewilding and UK habitats.