Notes from the Chief Executive

Building on the legacy of our forebears

Just over 60 years ago, a group of ambitious and dedicated people came together to form what is now the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. Their motivation was a desire to arrest the loss of our precious wildlife and wild places and their approach was one of partnership and inclusion. Having resolved to form a new organisation to tackle nature’s decline, their first act was to consider which groups and organisations were best placed to help achieve their aspirations. Groups engaged in early discussions as to how the Trust should protect what remained of our county’s natural heritage included those responsible for planning decisions; care of our rivers and waterways, rural policy and those engaged in research and wildlife recording.

In reaching out to such a diverse and influential range of partners, our forerunners were both astute and ambitious – setting us on a path of collaboration which has stood us in good stead and enabled us to deliver some spectacular success in our county, not least the establishment of our wonderful suite of nature reserves.

Over the past six decades the Trust has rightly focused much of our energy on protecting precious wild places from damage and destruction – saving a range of wonderful sites from ancient woodlands and rare wildflower meadows to vital fragments of the Sherwood Forest’s heathlands.

Whilst our estate does indeed include fine examples of ancient and traditional habitats, it is telling that the bulk of our estate consists of restored areas of gravel pits – sites where we have been able to nurture nature’s recovery on a grand scale.

Restored wetland habitats at Idle Valley, Attenborough, Besthorpe and Skylarks nature reserves cover over 700 hectares – more than 50% of our estate. Our shared achievements on these sites illustrate both the Trust’s ambition to act at scale and nature’s capacity to recover. Sitting at key points along the Trent Valley flyway, these sites have long provided havens for both wildlife and people, but caring for such large areas of wetland wildlife presents real challenges - hence the focus of our Wetland for Wildlife appeal.

As we mark 60 years of effort to protect and restore nature in our county, we are acutely aware that the scale of the ecological and climate crises we face leaves no room for complacency – we must continue to act with urgency and ambition as we strive to build on efforts of all that have gone before us.

Paul Wilkinson Chief Executive @originalwilko