It took 50 years for the Trust to acquire 1,000 hectares for nature conservation. That was from a standing start and now, in response to even greater crises, we are committed to repeating that over just 10 years through a programme of habitat creation on land which is currently poor for wildlife.

Think of it like a wonderful nature restoration jigsaw puzzle. We manage over 65 nature reserves across the county, but there are missing pieces. We know where new sites that would create homes for wildlife should be located. We also know how to connect them with our existing reserves to create glorious nature recovery networks. Networks that allow plants and animals to move from place to place, creating the corridors and new habitat they need to respond to climate change. 

If we do this, we can then go on to manage that land in a way that starts to combat climate change, creating healthy soils for growing food, clean air to breathe and water to drink. Not to mention flood management and helping the land to do its natural job of capturing and storing carbon, so reducing greenhouse gasses.

Healthy greenspaces popping up across the county will give local people the chance to connect with nature on their doorstep, to exercise, to meditate, to learn about the natural world and to show their children what an incredible world we are living in.

You, our supporter, have already helped your local environment in so many ways. Thanks to you, Warwickshire’s wildlife, though fragile, is in a far better state than it would have been without your support. We now need to call on you again to help us lead the way by donating to our appeal, so we can use the reserves you love and have helped us to create as launch pads to bring wildlife back across the county.

Our target of £3million for new land for nature will get us off to a flying start, meaning the Trust can start to work towards managing 2,000 hectares for nature’s recovery...it’s a significant amount but well short of the 30% needed. To achieve that we have to continue to work in partnership with others to deliver even greater results for nature and reach that all important percentage.

We are therefore also calling on members to use their networks to help us to identify opportunities where the Trust can work with local authorities, farmers and landowners, communities and businesses to achieve more for nature. We believe that local action will galvanise change on a larger scale, inspiring a behavioural shift that recognises that the environment must be integral to every aspect of our lives, from the things we buy, to the decisions we make in business and politics.