The Wildlife Trusts

Description

The Wildlife Trusts is a movement of 46 local, independent wildlife charities plus a central charity, the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, working to protect and restore nature.

It operates across the UK, Alderney and the Isle of Man, and is the largest grassroots organisation dedicated to protecting and restoring wildlife. Its roots go back to the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves, founded in 1912 by Charles Rothschild; the first independent local Trust formed in Norfolk in 1926, and the movement grew through the twentieth century into the federation known today. Members number over 945,000, with tens of thousands of volunteers and thousands of staff.

Together the Trusts manage more than 2,600 nature reserves, covering land and watercourses across the country, and are among the largest voluntary sector landowners in the UK. They run educational programmes, public events and campaigns, and lobby government and policymakers for stronger protection of the UK’s natural heritage. Each local Trust is independently run and handles its own membership, volunteering and local campaigns.

The central Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts coordinates national fundraising, campaigning and partnerships, including a Biodiversity Benchmark scheme that assesses businesses on their contribution to biodiversity. It was a founding member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1948 and hosts the IUCN Peatland Programme.