ltogether, this edition reflects a busy, hopeful season for nature and Durham Wildlife Trust. The world continues to be a challenging place for both people and nature, and assuming the worst is sometimes the easiest thing to do, so it’s good to take stock every now and then. When I look back at what the Trust has achieved in recent years, and our plans for the future, there is definitely a sense of hope.
People care about the place where they live and the natural world around them. If we take action, nature will recover – anyone who has put a pond in their garden can tell you how quickly wildlife took advantage of the new habitat.
Inside this edition you’ll find examples of people who care and take action. There’s information on photo exhibitions, our swift box scheme, and the latest developments from projects across the region. We also share an update on our magnesian limestone sites, showing how funds raised in our recent appeal are making a real difference for these rare habitats. There’s also a look at ongoing work by Stronger Shores, a spotlight on volunteering opportunities, and details on our AGM to be held in October.
Much to be hopeful about.
Jim Cokill Director of Durham Wildlife Trust
Northern brown argus by John Bridges
SComing alongswiftly
upporters of Durham Wildlife Trust’s Swift City fundraising appeal will be pleased to hear that work to create new nesting locations for swifts across the Trust’s patch is well underway. Twelve church installations are now complete, with 96 specially-made boxes installed alongside swift call players, to attract returning birds.
The campaign is also expanding across the whole Durham Wildlife Trust area, with supporters encouraged to report nesting swifts and suggest potential locations for swift nest boxes using the new interactive map. The map also shows where Swift City nest boxes have already been installed.
Take a look at the map and find out how to help at www.durhamwt.com/swift-city
Trustee vacancy
Durham Wildlife Trust is seeking a lead trustee for safeguarding to join its board and play a vital role in protecting both nature and people. This rewarding voluntary position offers the opportunity to help guide the Trust’s strategic direction, while ensuring robust safeguarding practices are in place across work with communities, volunteers and partners. The successful candidate will be supported by Trust staff safeguarding leads, and will be part of a wider network of safeguarding trustees from across The Wildlife Trusts federation, sharing knowledge and best practice. The role would suit someone with sound judgement, a commitment to high standards, and a passion for the environment, helping to create safe, inclusive spaces where nature and people can thrive together. Experience of safeguarding in professional healthcare, education, or local authority settings would be advantageous. The current lead trustee for safeguarding is standing down at the AGM, and would be happy to discuss the role informally with anyone interested, before they apply. For more information, please email mail@durhamwt.com
Residents help shape a greener Sunderland
The new Connecting Through Nature team has been getting to know green spaces in Sunderland and building connections with the local community. The project is funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund and Sunderland City Council and is part of Nature Towns and Cities – a UK-wide initiative aimed at transforming urban areas by increasing access to green and blue spaces, improving wellbeing, and supporting biodiversity.
Community consultation began at King George V Park in Pennywell, where the team spoke with residents at events in the park and shared a survey to gather local views. In total, 76 residents responded, providing valuable feedback that will help shape the next steps.
This was followed by a residents’ coffee morning, which offered a chance for more in-depth conversations and highlighted a strong community spirit, a shared love for the park, and a collective desire to make it more nature-friendly and safer.
Next steps have been planned with Pallion Action Group – based at the park’s Pavilion – and the West Area Community Hub. Work has begun on a pilot community growing project and the installation of new planters, while longer-term and more ambitious improvements to the park are also being explored.
Find out more about work taking place across Sunderland as part of this project, including how to get involved, at www.durhamwt.com/ connecting-through-nature
Photo: Nick Upton
A century of inspiration
This year marks two important centenaries with connections to Durham Wildlife Trust. Firstly, Sir David Attenborough, the Wildlife Trusts’ President Emeritus, celebrated his 100th birthday in May. From the Tees to the Tyne –and far beyond – Sir David has inspired people to care about the world around them, and for that we thank him. Secondly, Hannah Heauxwell would have turned 100 this August. Hannah’s Meadow, the Trust’s nature reserve that was once part of Hannah’s farm, is one of the few remaining traditional hay meadows in Teesdale and supports an abundance of wildlife. A wonderful legacy.
Teamwork helps community garden to blossom
The Nextdoor Nature initiative continues to flourish, supporting communties in the Sunderland area to bring nature back to their neighbourhoods.
Work with Age UK Sunderland has supported the successful relaunch of the Silver Birch Community Garden at Houghton Primary Care Trust. Trust volunteers, together with community and corporate volunteers, have helped create a sustainable growing space with a focus on wellbeing and intergenerational connection.
The garden is open every day and offers a welcoming space for everyone, especially people aged 50 and over. Mel, who leads the project with Age UK, said: “It’s been great working in partnership with Graeme and the Trust. His help, advice and contacts have been really useful, and the networking I have now achieved is really valuable. I’m so thankful for all the support given. Long may our partnership last.”
Find out more, including how to get involved, at www.durhamwt.com/ nextdoor-nature.
Wildlife through the lens
Members of the Low Barns Photography Group will be holding their fourth annual exhibition at the Low Barns Visitor Centre, near Bishop Auckland. Entry is free.
The exhibition runs from Saturday, 29 August to Wednesday, 2 September, from 10am to 4pm each day.
Rainton Meadows Wildlife Photography Group is hosting an exhibition of wildlife photographs at two locations. Entry is free.
The Rainton Meadows exhibition will take place at Rainton Meadows Visitor Centre on Saturday, 12 and Sunday, 13 September, from 10am to 4pm, and at The Storey, Mount Oswald, on Saturday, 21 and Sunday, 22 November, from 10am to 4pm.
Low Barns: 29 August to 2 September
Rainton Meadows: 12 to 13 September.
Letting the meadows bloom – for wildlife and people
An update on the new land at Rainton Meadows
Thirty years ago, the landscape at Rainton Meadows was shaped by opencast coal mining. Today, it is one of Durham Wildlife Trust’s best-loved nature reserves – and, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we now have the chance to write its next chapter.
The new land at Rainton Meadows was acquired in 2025 after a fantastic response from members and supporters, alongside vital funding from Biffa Award. Previously used for grazing, the area now offers real potential for nature recovery. We are exploring how best to create a richer mix of habitats, including flowering meadows, scrub and wetland, while also addressing the periodic flooding that affects the entrance road.
This work is about people as well as wildlife. We know how important Rainton Meadows is for visitors and local residents, so our plans will also look at improving access, creating more viewing areas, and adding clearer interpretation to help people enjoy and understand the changing landscape. We are grateful to the Northumbrian Water Branch Out Fund, which has awarded funding to support the site investigation work needed before improvements can begin. Before we take the plans further, however, we want to hear from the people who know and love the reserve.
By Barbara Hooper Head of Nature Recovery
Later this year, we will host an exhibition at Rainton Meadows Visitor Centre where supporters, visitors and local residents can comment on the proposals. There will also be an opportunity to join a guided walk around the new area, see the possibilities first-hand, and share views on what should happen next.
The extension will make the existing nature reserve even better for wildlife and more welcoming for people. Rainton Meadows already shows what can happen when nature is given space to recover. In just a few decades, a former industrial landscape has become home to a wide range of species, including recent arrivals such as avocets, Cetti’s warblers, and the small red-eyed damselfly.
Now we have the chance to build on that success. Email support@durhamwt.co.uk to register for details of the exhibition and guided walk, come and have your say, and help us shape the next 30 years of Rainton Meadows – for wildlife, for people, and for the landscape we all share.
Diving into our marine work
By the Stronger Shores team
As you head to the beach this summer, spare a thought for what lies beneath the waves. Hidden habitats such as seagrass meadows, kelp forests, and oyster reefs are a vital part of our marine ecosystem. They also help protect us from coastal erosion and flooding by reducing the height and force of waves as they reach our coastline.
This protective role is at the heart of the Stronger Shores project, which has been running for the past two years. Led by South Tyneside Council, and covering the north east coast from Lindisfarne to Skinningrove, the partnership includes Newcastle and Plymouth universities, Tees Rivers Trust, and the Wild Oysters Project. Durham Wildlife Trust is delivering two elements on behalf of the North Sea Wildlife Trusts: research to inform the potential restoration of seagrass and offshore kelp in key locations, and engaging with communities to understand what these habitats mean to people.
The research has been led by Dr Martina Bristow. She has applied her knowledge and expertise to better understand how environmental factors may impact the establishment of the seagrass species Nanozostera noltii at selected intertidal sites. These sites include the river Aln at Alnmouth; the Wansbeck estuary near Cambois; and the river Don where it flows through Jarrow into the Tyne. Working with Tees Rivers Trust, which has propagated seagrass on our behalf, Martina has planted out seedlings in trial plots and conducted regular monitoring of seagrass condition and environmental parameters such as sediment movement, water flow, turbidity and light. The plants grow only in shallow water, with their roots anchored in mud and sand, so much of Martina’s work has required ingenuity and skill to avoid sinking without trace into the deep mud.
Seagrasses are the only flowering plants able to live in seawater and pollinate while submerged. They often spread, resembling terrestrial grassland: an underwater meadow that shelters a wide range of marine species. Astonishingly, seagrass can capture carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests. These marine meadows reduce coastal erosion by slowing water flow and trapping sediment, whilst also offering one of the most important natural solutions to the climate crisis.
Learn more about Stronger Shores
Sadly, seagrass has declined drastically, with more than 90% of meadows lost around the UK. Along the north east coast, it is now found mainly in protected areas around Lindisfarne, and a recently established, small fragmented meadow near Amble.
Martina’s work on kelp, a type of brown seaweed, has included trialling an offshore cultivation method using seeded ‘Kelpedo™’ structures off the coast of Seaham. Alongside monitoring kelp growth and environmental conditions, Martina assessed biodiversity colonisation on and around the structures, and explored the feasibility of offshore kelp cultivation as a nature recovery tool.
A fragment of dwarf eelgrass, ready for planting.
Main photo: Seagrass trial frame set in the mud on the mudflat at Alnmouth.
As the project enters its final months, Martina will turn her attention to analysing and interpreting the data and observations, and sharing our learnings to inform future coastal nature recovery initiatives.
Our engagement work, led by Blair Watson, has continued to engage communities across the project area through workshops, events, and creative activities. Using inspiring techniques, Blair has helped increase understanding of the project and, crucially, build a stronger connection between communities and our incredible marine world.
For example, a programme of school workshops involved around 1,700 students. A puppet show built around the story of kelp was developed with Whippet Up, which toured the Tees area in 2025, performed to more than 4,000 people, and will be followed this year with activities focused on oysters. There have also been more festivals, walks and talks than we can shake a kelp stipe at!
Partnerships with artist groups in Amble and Seaham have been particularly successful in connecting communities with the marine realm. Through workshops, field trips, and poetry evenings, artists took inspiration from seagrass and kelp, resulting in successful exhibitions that showcased their work. In Seaham, for example, the East Durham Artists Network dedicated its gallery to their kelp artwork for a month, running workshops and events. The artists were inspired by the beauty and wonder of the marine world, which, for many of us, remains unseen, inaccessible and remote.
As the Stronger Shores project nears completion, the learning from our research and engagement will be fed back to the Environment Agency and Defra as part of the wider project outcomes, to help inform future coastal initiatives. Durham Wildlife Trust hopes to develop its marine work so that it can continue protecting our remarkable offshore habitats. Although hidden below the waves, the marine world benefits us in ways we are still working to understand. It is ours to protect, conserve and restore, so that biodiversity can flourish along our coasts and beneath the waves, long into the future.
One of 25 projects nationally, Stronger Shores is funded by Defra as part of the government’s Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme (FCRIP), managed by the Environment Agency. The programme is seeking new ways to address current and future flood risks from the sea, rivers, groundwater and surface water, and will drive adaptation to a changing climate.
Team of volunteers and colleagues surveying the seagrass near Amble on a rainy day in March.
Empty cockle shells and laver spire shell (mudsnails) amongst the dwarf eelgrass near Amble.
Magnesian limestone meadows get a boost from your support
Magical Meadows appeal update
This spring, Durham Wildlife Trust took part in Earth Raise for the first time. The seven-day online match-funding campaign, organised by the Big Give, supported our work to protect and restore the region’s magnesian limestone grasslands.
The Trust would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated, shared the appeal and helped us reach our ambitious target. We are, as ever, extremely grateful for your support.
If you have not yet donated but would like to support our work to restore these rare grasslands, please scan the code to find out how you can help.
What makes our magnesian limestone grasslands so special?
The foundations of this landscape were formed around 260 million years ago, when the North East of England was covered by a large inland sea. Sediments that settled on the sea bed eventually formed the pale yellow rocks that still shape the hills of east Durham and the coastal cliffs from the Tees to the Tyne.
These grasslands were once far more widespread, full of wildflowers, and alive with pollinators. Today, they survive only as small, scattered fragments across the region, and many of the species that rely on them are now at risk of disappearing.
How will your donations help?
These sensitive habitats need careful, tailored management. This includes controlling scrub and invasive species, as well as carrying out late-summer meadow cuts once wildflowers have dispersed their seeds.
Targeted grazing also allows us to manage larger areas using livestock such as cattle, horses and sheep. This helps create the right conditions for rare wildflowers to flourish, and supports the ongoing care of these reserves.
By Andy Wadds Reserves Manager
By Katie Armstrong Data and Marketing Officer
Spotting guide
On the coast, look for sea thrift and sea plantain on exposed cliff-top grasslands, particularly where salt spray shapes the plant communities. In flower, sea thrift forms bright pink cushions, while sea plantain has narrow leaves and compact flower spikes that are well adapted to coastal conditions.
At Bishop Middleham Quarry and Raisby Hill Grassland, keep an eye out for dark-red helleborine during the summer flowering season. These reserves also offer opportunities to see other limestone grassland plants, including common rock-rose, common milkwort and wild thyme, as well as butterflies and other pollinating insects.
Magnesian limestone grasslands: what to see and where to see it
Summer brings our magnesian limestone grasslands to life. Wildflowers bloom across the landscape, while butterflies, bees and other invertebrates use the open, sunny spaces for nectar, shelter and warmth.
As June arrives, one of the first species to look for is common rock-rose, Helianthemum nummularium. This low-growing evergreen flowers from June to September, and is the larval foodplant of the northern brown argus, Aricia artaxerxes, one of the UK’s rarest butterflies and a priority species for Durham. This small butterfly belongs to the same family as the blues, and can sometimes be mistaken for a female common blue, especially when seen from the underside. Look out for northern brown argus, on the wing, from late June through to August.
For a different view of magnesian limestone grassland, the Durham Coast is well worth a visit. The cliffs from South Shields to Blackhall Rocks are the only example in the UK of vegetated sea cliffs on magnesian limestone exposures. Alongside classic limestone grassland species, the influence of salt spray creates distinctive paramaritime plant communities, where sea plantain, Plantago maritima, and sea thrift, Armeria maritima, grow close to common milkwort, Polygala vulgaris , and wild thyme, Thymus polytrichus . Wet flushes also support more unusual plants, including grass of Parnassus, Parnassia palustris, and the nationally rare round-leaved wintergreen, Pyrola rotundifolia
No summer spotting guide would be complete without dark-red helleborine, Epipactis atrorubens. This striking perennial herb is found on limestone plateaux at only a select number of sites in the United Kingdom. Durham Wildlife Trust manages two excellent places to look for it: Bishop Middleham Quarry and Raisby Hill Grassland. At Bishop Middleham Quarry, annual counts carried out by dedicated volunteers have formed one of the Trust’s longest-running monitoring programmes, continuing for more than 30 years.
river to shore Working together for a cleaner coast
By Caitlin Elwin Volunteering Officer
From source to sea, volunteers are taking action along the Durham coast to reduce litter, protect wildlife, and create cleaner places for everyone to enjoy.
As an active member of the Heritage Coast Partnership, Durham Wildlife Trust runs a wide range of beach care activities, including beach cleans, litter surveys, and source-to-sea litter picks. By working with local communities, we are not only protecting the coast, but also encouraging people to take action close to home, and raising awareness of how litter travels through the environment before reaching the sea.
The impact of volunteer action
Thanks to the dedication and outstanding support of volunteers, we have removed 2,484 bags of litter from the coast over the last 12 months.
Across 142 coastal litter picks, volunteers from the Trust, community groups, schools, and businesses have contributed an incredible 4,424 hours of action along our coastline.
These figures show both the scale of the problem and the strength of the community response. Every clean-up helps restore the coast while also building a better understanding of the waste affecting our shoreline.
What the surveys reveal
Volunteers do more than remove litter. They also take part in citizen science surveys, recording every item found across a 100-metre stretch of beach. This data helps us identify where litter on our beaches is coming from and contributes to national monitoring led by the Marine Conservation Society.
Our findings show that plastics continue to dominate the litter found on the Durham coast, making up an average of 70% of all items recorded in survey areas.
Over time, plastic breaks down into smaller fragments known as microplastics, which pose a serious threat to the marine environment. Birds, fish, and other marine species can ingest these particles while feeding, and they may then pass further up the food chain. Much of the litter collected on the Durham coast is estimated to come from public littering and fishing activity.
Why source to sea matters
Each clean-up is an important reminder of the ongoing threat marine pollution poses to ocean health. A significant proportion of the litter found on the beach begins its journey far inland, carried through rivers and waterways before eventually reaching the coast.
Through our source-to-sea initiative, volunteers also target litter at river level, helping to stop it at its source before it can travel further downstream.
Get involved
• Volunteer
• Take part in a beach clean
• Attend a source-to-sea event www.durhamwt.com/events
Photo:
SCAN ME
Powered by people: volunteers help nature thrive
Throughout the year, volunteers make an outstanding contribution to Durham Wildlife Trust and to nature’s recovery across the region. From practical conservation work on nature reserves and projects, to supporting gift shops and helping with office administration, volunteers are essential to everything we do.
Over the past year alone, more than 450 volunteers have contributed almost 30,000 hours to support Durham Wildlife Trust. Their time, energy and commitment help us protect and restore wildlife from Tees to Tyne.
Volunteers’ Week, held in early June, gave us a chance to celebrate that contribution and hear directly from the people who give their time so generously. Their stories remind us that volunteering offers benefits far beyond the hours given.
Volunteering can help people:
• learn new skills
• meet like-minded people
• spend time in local wild spaces
• inspire others to take action for nature
• strengthen communities by bringing people together
By Caitlin Elwin Volunteering Officer
At a glance
450 volunteers
30,000 hours
Opportunities to learn new skills
A chance to meet like-minded people
There are many ways to get involved, whether you can spare just a few hours or want to volunteer regularly. With flexible opportunities to match different interests and availability, volunteering with Durham Wildlife Trust is a rewarding way to support local conservation and connect with others who share a passion for nature.
To find out more about current opportunities and start your volunteer journey with Durham Wildlife Trust, visit our volunteer portal: www.durhamwt.com/volunteer
SCAN ME
Beavering away
HIS SPRING, THERE WERE SEVERAL important moments for Britain’s beavers. In February, Cornwall Wildlife Trust released two pairs of beavers into Cornish river catchments. This was the first wild beaver release in England to go through the formal application process. Wildlife Trusts are involved in over twenty beaver reintroduction programmes and hope to release around 100 beavers in the near future.
The south of England is the currently the beaver hotspot, with ten more Wildlife Trust projects in Devon, Dorset, Isle of White and Kent given the go ahead by Natural England to apply for wild release licences after a successful process of Expression of Interest. Many neighbouring Wildlife Trusts have also teamed up to form beaver partnerships, working across
Go wild for moths
catchment areas. This includes groups for the Severn, Humber, Thames, and East Anglia. This approach will make it possible to release larger numbers of beavers, creating healthier populations with more genetic diversity..
A few weeks later, on 4th March, new legislation from the Welsh Government came into force, recognising beavers as a native species and granting them protected status. This is a major milestone for restoring beavers in Wales, bringing legislation in line with the protection afforded to beavers elsewhere in Britain. The beaver was granted protected status in Scotland in 2019 and England in 2022.
Alicia Leow-Dyke, Welsh Beaver Project officer for the Wildlife Trusts in Wales, says: “We have been working towards this goal of legal protection for beavers in Wales for many years, so we are delighted with this brilliant outcome. Beavers play a vital role in our
Through the Wild About Gardens partnership, The Wildlife Trusts and the RHS are encouraging gardeners to make space for moths. These incredible insects are important pollinators, a vital link in many food chains and an indicator of healthy environments. wildaboutgardens.org.uk
ecosystems and formally recognising them as a native species is the right thing to do. We thank the Welsh Government for listening to all the evidence and making the right decision.”
Beavers are ecosystem engineers, meaning they alter the landscape in which they live and bring benefits to the wildlife around them. The wetlands they create help to reduce flooding, improve water quality and store carbon. They also provide a home for a wealth of wildlife, including water shrews, water voles, otters, kingfishers, dragonflies and fish. Bringing beavers back to Britain isn't just the reintroduction of a species, it's the reintroduction of an entire ecosystem that's been lost. Their return can help tackle both the nature crisis and the climate crisis.
See the moment beavers were released into Cornish rivers at wtru.st/Cornish-beaver-release
Nature’s new champions
Actor, ecologist and podcaster David Oakes has stepped up from ambassador to vice president of The Wildlife Trusts, following years of support. The Wildlife Trusts also welcomed two new ambassadors: Inka Cresswell (pictured), a marine biologist and ocean wildlife filmmaker; and Louis VI, a musician, zoologist and nature activist. tru.st/ambassadors
Q&A
Head of Public Affairs for The Wildlife Trusts, Matthew Browne tells us why the UK Government needs to give nature more respect.
Nature matters
HOW
HAVE
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTIONS come under threat this spring?
The UK Government has been fruitlessly looking for growth amidst a pile of shredded nature protections. Some people in power have fallen for the myth that if nature protections are reduced, growth will follow. Last year’s Planning and Infrastructure Act attempted environmental deregulation and hot on its heels came the Nuclear Regulatory Review. The Review made recommendations to increase nuclear power deployment, including proposals to change the law to make it easier for developers to cause damage to wildlife.
Why was the Nuclear Regulatory Review flawed?
The Review’s nature recommendations stemmed from a flawed case study of the Hinkley C nuclear project. The case study minimised the project’s environmental impact, claiming that only 550 fish would be killed per year when the real number was well over 4.5 million, and maximised the costs of the measures needed to avoid these outcomes. These distortions were intended to portray nature protections as an unreasonable burden. In reality, nature protections and the mitigation measures they require typically cost only 0.1% of the budget of a nuclear project.
How did people react to this news?
Nature lovers in their thousands wrote to their MPs to tell them that weakening nature protections would do little to nothing to boost nuclear deployment, but would risk the current nature crisis turning into a catastrophe. Many MPs listened and acted. Over 120 parliamentarians urged the UK Government not to proceed with the nature recommendations from the review.
The UK Government has pulled back on some changes, but is there still cause for concern?
This pressure paid off. In March the UK Government announced that it would not legislate to weaken the laws that protect wildlife. However, it did commit to issuing new guidance on how those laws should be applied. Whilst we have successfully defended the legal core of nature protections, Ministers are still tinkering around the edges.
What
happens next?
The Wildlife Trusts continue to make it clear to the UK Government that nature protections are not blockers to growth, but rather are the guarantors of the wild spaces that we need to maintain and restore if we are to avoid ecosystem collapse. Such collapse threatens unparalleled environmental, social and economic disruption. Thank you for standing with us, as we continue to warn those in power that diminishing nature protections will have disastrous
Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust is celebrating 30 years
250,000 records of squirrels have been collected by Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels, a partnership project led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
ways your support is making a difference
Cornwall Wildlife Trust planted the first of
28,000 trees on an ambitious project to restore temperate rainforest in south east Cornwall.
Norfolk Wildlife Trust purchased
336 acres in Wood Norton for one of the most significant habitat creation projects in their 100-year history.
SMALL-SPOTTED CATSHARK
These small sharks are found all around our coasts, sticking close to the seafloor. They are often accidentally caught during bottom trawling.
SCOURING THE
SEABED
Get to the bottom of bottom trawling with Daniele Clifford, marine conservation officer for The Wildlife Trusts.
I’ve known about the impacts of bottom trawling for years. But like many others, last year I sat in the cinema watching Ocean with David Attenborough, stunned to see the reality of this fishing method on the big screen. The giant net and heavy chains bulldozing the seafloor, stirring up sediment and destroying the burrows of countless creatures in seconds. Fish and other wildlife of all shapes,
sizes and ages swimming for their lives… only to be sucked into the vast yawning net and later discarded, dead, back into the sea.
This incredible footage has stuck with me and millions of others around the world. For too long the impacts of bottom trawling have been out of sight and out of mind. Thankfully the tide is starting to turn, but we still have a long way to go.
Atlantic cod
Bottom trawling is often used to target cod, which is one of the UK's most popular commercial fishes.
What is bottom trawling?
Bottom trawling is a method of fishing that drags heavy nets and chains along the seafloor. It is used to catch fish or shellfish that live within or just above the seabed. Bottom trawling is largely used as it enables fishers to catch large amounts of high-value fish, including whitefish like cod, haddock and hake, and flatfish such as halibut and sole. Shellfish like nephrops and shrimp are also targeted using this method.
Discards and destruction
Fishers using bottom trawling often only want to capture one or two fish species (the ‘target species’), but the nets catch almost everything within their path. Everything the fishers don’t want is thrown back into the sea (called ‘discards’). This may be more than three quarters of the catch! These discarded fish and other wildlife may be killed, injured or at least extremely stressed by the process.
Intensive trawling also causes damage to the seabed. It reduces the diversity of wildlife, wiping out long-lived species, damaging or removing fragile reef-forming animals and destroying the 3D structures they create. The many surfaces and crevices of a healthy seabed provide key nursery, feeding and refuge areas for wildlife, including commercially important fish and shellfish. When these are destroyed, entire ecosystems begin to unravel.
There are potential implications for the climate, too. It’s estimated that there are around 240 million tonnes of carbon in the top 10 cm of seabed sediments in the UK and Isle of Man’s seas mostly in our marvellous marine mud.
Norway lobster
Also known as nephrops or Dublin Bay prawns, they live in burrows and are targeted by bottom trawls to make scampi.
When trawling disturbs sensitive carbon-rich sediments, it risks releasing this carbon.
Our seas are a shared resource. Unsustainable fishing not only harms wildlife, but also the other people and economies that rely on healthy seas for their livelihoods, cultures and recreation.
Seabed sanctuaries
The UK has 377 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), created to protect special habitats and wildlife at sea. This is an impressive number, but sadly many still allow damaging activities within them. Some progress has been made, but many MPAs with important seabed habitats are still partially or totally open to bottom trawling. This needs to change.
Our marine ecosystems can bounce back spectacularly when properly protected. Banning bottom trawling in MPAs would be a strong step in the right direction. There’s a wealth of scientific evidence that shows well managed and enforced MPAs are a vital tool for restoring ocean health. But they are only effective if damaging activities are not allowed within them.
The Wildlife Trusts have been campaigning for the banning of bottom trawling in seabed MPAs since these special sites were designated, many more than 10 years ago. Recently, we have seen some progress, but we need to keep the pressure up!
Thornback ray
These beautiful rays may be targeted or accidentally caught in bottom trawls.
Sea pen
Sea pens are colonial animals that resemble old-fashioned quills. They are highly vulnerable to physical disturbance and impacted by bottom trawling.
What you can do
• If you eat fish, use The Good Fish Guide (www.mcsuk.org/ goodfishguide/) to choose more sustainable seafood.
• Write to your MP and ask them to support banning bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas and a just transition for fisheries.
• Sign up for our Friends of Marine newsletter to stay up to date with marine news and ways you can help protect our seas: wtru.st/marine-mailing
Before
A healthy seabed in its natural state.
After
A seabed destroyed by bottom trawling.
Progress in the UK so far:
Northern Ireland Scotland England
Bottom trawling is only banned from one area, around Skomer Island. Some progress has been made for inshore MPAs, but offshore sites remain unprotected.
Wales
Bottom trawling was banned from certain areas of Scottish offshore MPAs in October 2025. However, gaps remain and there have been delays in implementing bans in inshore MPAs.
Progress is slowly being made for offshore seabed MPAs in England, thanks to the 18,000 people who responded to our call to action in Summer 2025 asking the Government to ban bottom trawling in these sites. Gaps remain in inshore MPAs.
A fair and sustainable future for fisheries
Protecting our seas doesn’t mean leaving fishers behind. We need a just transition where fishing communities, scientists, governments and other stakeholders work together to shape the future of fishing across our wider seas. This includes finding innovative ways to reduce the environmental impact of fishing gears and practices, as well as supporting and incentivising fishers to transition to these more sustainable methods. This is essential, not just for wildlife and carbon, but for the people who depend on our seas.
Scarce and mostly found in southern and eastern parts of England, especially on heathland and woodland rides. Caterpillars
Migratory, reaching all parts of the UK. Frequently seen nectaring at flowers, hovering like a hummingbird. Caterpillars feed on bedstraws.
mainly on Scots pine.
Common throughout the UK. Caterpillars feed on poplars and willows.
Discover some magnificent moths with Barry Henwood, co-author of Field Guide to the Caterpillars of Great Britain and Ireland and volunteer with Devon Wildlife Trust
hawk-moths includes the largest species found in the UK. They’re a diverse group, but one characteristic they all share is that the caterpillar has a horn at the end of its abdomen.
We have nine resident species, with a further nine migrating here from Europe. But of these migrants, only the humming-bird hawk-moth is able to survive our winters. Most spectacular is the death’s-head hawk-moth, an uncommon migrant. Its short, stubby tongue is specialised for taking honey from the nests of honey bees. It emits an audible squeak, thought to be a form of communication that helps it cheat the bees.
Some hawk-moths fly by day, such as the two species of bee hawk-moth and
by lights, but you may find them resting by day, perhaps on fence posts or trees. They are camouflaged, but if disturbed by a bird some species flash their colourful hindwings. The poplar hawk-moth displays a red patch, whilst the eyed hawk-moth reveals bright colours and eye spots. These serve to startle the bird and make it flee. The elephant hawk-moth is particularly colourful, but more often its caterpillar is found in gardens. It has a swollen first abdominal segment and large eye spots, giving the illusion of a snake. Caterpillars of other species can be found by searching their foodplants and looking for stripped leaves on branches or their droppings beneath.
Spurn National Nature
Reserve
Yorkshire
Wildlife Trust
This peninsula on the Yorkshire coast isn’t just great for migrant birds, but migrant moths too. Following southerly winds, look out for humming-bird hawk-moths or, if you’re really lucky, something much rarer, such as convolvulus or death’shead hawk-moths.
Where: Kilnsea, HU12 0UH
Folly Farm
Avon Wildlife Trust
The woodland and wildflower meadows are home to lots of moths, including elephant hawk-moths. Adults are regularly attracted to lights during surveys, but you might find a chunky caterpillar crossing a path in late summer.
Where:
Bristol, BS39 4DW
Slievenacloy
Nature Reserve
Ulster Wildlife
This grassland paradise in the Belfast Hills is Ulster Wildlife’s largest nature reserve. It’s home to a stunning variety of wildlife, including visiting humming-bird hawkmoths and the rare narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth.
Where: Lisburn, BT28 3TE
Tap into the sounds of nature with musician, zoologist and new Wildlife Trust ambassador
LOUIS VI
WHY ARE NATURAL SOUNDS so important to you?
Nature has always been my safe place. But it’s only in the last five years I’ve come to understand how sound connects us to nature. We are evolutionarily hardwired to nature’s sonic language. The sounds of birds, frogs and insects all trigger our parasympathetic pathway to make us feel relaxed. But modern life often drowns this out. Our ancestors survived by listening to nature. Sounds can tell you where to find food, water, safety—but also danger. Silence often meant a predator was around. By drowning out nature, we’re forcing ourselves to live in that “danger silence” and the evolutionary stress that comes with it.
How has nature influenced your music?
Music likely predated human language, inspired by sounds from nature. So nature has influenced all music, not just mine. Nature is the original artist. That’s why I was honoured to be one of the first musicians to feature nature as an official artist in my music, alongside Brian Eno and his charity Earthpercent.
What excites you as a new Wildlife Trust ambassador?
I’m really excited about reframing what “nature” is in the UK. Showing that Nature Ain’t a Luxury (the title of my film with The Wildlife Trusts) but a necessity. I hope it awakens a sleeping herd of young people, particularly from lower economic backgrounds and diasporas, to reconnect to nature. But on a bigger level, I hope we put nature at the heart of our national identity and culture. We can bring nature back, restore our wild places and make nature a source of immense national pride.
What message would you like to send as an ambassador?
Nature is for all of us, no matter where you live or what you look like. It’s your right because you are an animal that evolved as part of nature. We all need it to be healthy, not just the people that can afford to get into it. I hope young people see me, a mixed race guy, from a rough part of North London that's had all the experiences that they have had and yet is a massive nature geek; and see themselves. It doesn't have to be a massive step, but you need nature and it needs you. Start by listening—even if it's listening online on headphones first, you can go to my website (natureaintaluxury.com) there's loads there, or come to one of my exhibitions if the real thing is hard to hear in your area. But soon I promise you won't be able to help seeking it out in the real world, and you'll know it because, guess what, we're all fluent in nature, it just takes listening a little again to reignite that fluency.
Hear more from Louis VI in his TED Talk Louis VI: The language you're fluent in— but forgot how to hear at: wtru.st/Louis-VI-TED-Talk
Roaming reptiles
Reptiles aren’t a guarantee in a garden. They’re more likely to move in if you live beside suitable habitat, such as a railway embankment or heathland. But the steps you take for reptiles will benefit many of your other wild neighbours, too.
1
Open the gates
Invite reptiles into your garden
The first step is to make sure reptiles (and other wildlife) can get into your garden. A hedge is a better garden boundary for wildlife than a fence, providing shelter and letting small animals pass through. If a hedge isn’t an option, consider cutting a small hole in the bottom of your fence.
2
Make a splash
Nothing attracts wildlife like water. Add a pond to your garden, wildlife will come. If you’re lucky, grass snakes might even hunt there, searching for frogs and other amphibians. They’re excellent swimmers, wriggling through the water with ease.
3
Offer a sunbed
Reptiles bask to raise their body temperature. Grass snakes and common lizards like open spots, so a sun-drenched rock or log could be perfect. Slow-worms prefer to warm up under cover. A piece of slate, wooden board or roofing felt could make a great slow-worm sauna. Place it in a southfacing, sunny position, on top of vegetation rather than bare ground.
4
Start composting
Composting is more than just a great way to recycle garden waste. Slowworms will slither through a compost heap in search of slugs. It might even serve as a natural incubator for the eggs of a grass snake—avoid turning compost from June to late September to avoid damaging them. Place your heap in a sunny spot, ideally by a hedge or long grass.
5
Let your grass grow
Leave an area of lawn to grow wild, providing cover for reptiles. If you need to cut some long grass, walk through it first to give any hiding reptiles the chance to move.
6
Pile up logs
A log pile is the ultimate multi-use facility. It can offer shelter for reptiles to hide away over winter, attract insects and other wildlife that reptiles feed on, and provide a prominent perch for basking in the sunlight.
Snake or fake
Get tips for separating snakes from the snake-like slow-worm at wildlifetrusts.org/identify-snakes
FIELD GUIDE
Bat watching begins
Dr Kim Wallis, head of nature reserves and natural capital for Essex Wildlife Trust, has been a bat rehabilitator for over 20 years
BATS HOLD A SPECIAL PLACE in my heart. There is nothing better than watching a bat weave, dive and dance across the skyline, or seeing them emerge from their roosts (home in bat speak). Here are my top tips to begin your bat watching journey.
The best time to see bats is around dusk, in warm and calm weather conditions. During the summer, female bats form maternity roosts to raise their young (called pups). Amazingly, the pups are born approximately one third of their mum’s size.
Eyes up! Bats need bugs and rely on natural features such as hedgerows, woodlands and water bodies to feed and to navigate. Find these features and you’ll find bats around them.
Eyes down! You don’t need any equipment to enjoy bat watching, but it can help you identify them. Bat detectors turn bat echolocation calls into sounds we can hear. Each bat species produces a slightly different sound, which can be used to identify the species.
Coat The division between the brown back and pale belly is neat
Howtoseparatethesemini butmightymammals
Weasel
Mustela nivalis
Tracks larger footprints with a more irregular heel pad
Stoat Mustela erminea
Length Around 24-31 cm body length, with a 9-14 cm tail
Weight 140-445 g (males are around twice as heavy as females)
Tail Long, with a bushy black tip
Movement Often bounds along with a strongly arched back
Diet mostly eats rabbits, as well as rodents, birds and their eggs and other food
V STOAT WEASEL
Length Around 17-22 cm body
length, with a 3-5 cm tail
Weight 55-131 g (males are around twice as heavy as females)
Tail shorter than a stoat’s and completely brown
Movement usually scurries low to the ground
Diet Specialises in hunting mice and voles, but may also eat small rabbits, birds and their eggs and other food
Tracks smaller footprints with a more rounded heel pad
Coat The division between the brown back and pale belly is jagged and patchy
Events
Please book our events online at www.durhamwt.com/events or call 0191 584 3112. The events listed below are for supporters and guests and free to attend unless otherwise stated.
Cuthbert’s Moor Supporters’ Walk
Saturday, 1st August, 10am – 1pm
Join the Trust’s Head of Nature Recovery, Barbara Hooper, and Southern Reserves Officer, Tim Davis, for a guided walk at Cuthbert’s Moor Nature Reserve. Discover the story of this remarkable upland landscape – once managed as a grouse moor – and learn how the Trust is working to restore, protect and enhance its globally rare habitats. As the reserve is not usually open to the public, this special event offers supporters a rare opportunity to see conservation work in action and, with luck, spot some of the wildlife that makes this distinctive upland environment so important. Please bring binoculars, suitable footwear and a warm drink, for a scenic and memorable walk.
Autumn in the Dene
Tuesday, 8th September, 6pm – 7pm
Experience the changing colours of Hawthorn Dene on an autumn ramble through one of the county’s most beautiful coastal landscapes. Along the way, supporters will be introduced to autumn tree identification and the seasonal wildlife that thrives in this special reserve.
Hawthorn Dene is the second-largest coastal dene in the county, with unspoilt ancient woodland and species-rich limestone hay meadows. Durham Wildlife Trust’s Reserves Manager will explain how the site is cared for and managed, offering an insight into the habitats and species that make this reserve such a valuable place for nature.
Dive into the Bluespaces Project
Saturday, 3rd October, 11am – 12:30pm
Join Project Manager Siân Whitehead at Low Barns Nature Reserve, a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, for an introduction to the Bluespaces Project and the improvements it is delivering for wildlife and people. This event will explore the Trust’s partnership work with Northumbrian Water to improve habitats and access across reserves and connected landscapes. Supporters will hear an illustrated talk in the Low Barns Visitor Centre before having the option to join a walk around the reserve to see, first-hand, examples of the project’s impact.
The Wonderful World of Fungi
Saturday, 7th November, 11am – 3pm
Visit Low Barns Nature Reserve and Visitor Centre, this autumn, for a fascinating introduction to the remarkable world of fungi.
Led by members of the North East Fungi Study Group, the event will begin with an in-depth talk in the Alder Room, before moving into the surrounding woodland for a guided fungi foray. Supporters will discover the diversity, ecology and importance of the fungi found across the reserve, gaining a new appreciation of this often-overlooked part of the natural world.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2026
The Annual General Meeting will be held at 6pm on Monday, 12 October, 2026
Members will be able to attend the AGM online or, in person, at Rainton Meadows.
Full details on how to register for the AGM are available at www.durhamwt.com/agm
Alternatively, you can telephone or write (see contact details below) to register and request meeting papers.
3. Adoption of Annual Report and Consolidated Accounts
4. Chair’s remarks
5. Election of members to the Board
6. Confirmation of auditors
Close of the formal meeting to be followed by presentations on the Trust’s work.
AGM papers, including the annual report and accounts, and details of members standing for election to the Board, will be available at www.durhamwt.com/agm and sent to everyone who registers to attend. The annual report and accounts will also be published on the Trust’s website, and printed copies will be available to Trust members on request.
The formal AGM business will be followed by presentations on the Trust’s recent work, its refreshed strategy, and how this will shape future plans.
The AGM and presentations are expected to finish by 7.15pm.
Members who wish to vote by proxy should contact the Trust to request a proxy voting form. Completed forms must be returned to the Trust’s Rainton Meadows office (address above) by 6pm on Saturday, 10 October, 2026.
Trustee Faye Butler will step down at the AGM after eight years’ service; the maximum term allowed under the Articles of Association. Trustees Nigel Bell and Harvey Neve will stand for re-election after completing an initial four year term. Several members have expressed interest in becoming Trustees and full details of those standing for election at the AGM will be available at www.durhamwt.com/agm
Members who would like further information on becoming a Trustee by seeking election to the Board should contact the Trust at mail@durhamwt.co.uk or call 0191 584 3112. Please note, nomination forms for those seeking election to the Board must be received not less than 28 calendar days before the date set for the AGM.
Durham Wildlife Trust highlights for 2025-26
Naturally healthier
Creating space for nature to thrive
The former Bradley Surface Coal Mine is now Billingside Meadows Nature Reserve (www.durhamwt.com/nature-reserves/billingside-meadows), thanks to Durham Wildlife Trust taking on stewardship of the site to ensure that wildlife can recover and thrive. Additional land was also purchased at Stanley Moss and Milkwellburn Wood nature reserves, to provide more space for nature.
The Trust is demonstrating how nature makes our lives better. Fifty people attended our health and wellbeing programmes, including our Wild About Brain Health sessions, supported by Alzheimer’s Research UK.
A secure future
Inspiring the next generation
More than 3,500 children and young people participated in the charity’s education activities during 2025-26, bringing a love and understanding of nature to the next generation.
During the year, Durham Wildlife Trust secured approximately £2.8* million to support nature’s recovery, generating a small surplus to invest in the future. The Trust’s first Biodiversity Net Gain schemes are now active and delivering the funding needed to create new habitats.
*pre-audit figures
Vital support
More than 450 volunteers provided nearly 30,000 hours of their time to support the charity’s work – an essential part of delivering nature’s recovery from Tees to Tyne.
Read more about our work for wildlife online: www.durhamwt.com
