Durham Wildlife Trust

Charity Details

Full Name: Durham Wildlife Trust
Field: Environment and Animals
Founded: 1971
Headquarters: Houghton-le-Spring, DH4 6PU
Charity No: 501038

History and Activities

The Durham Wildlife Trust, founded in 1971, owns and manages 35 nature reserves across County Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland to protect wildlife for future generations through nature conservation. Its sites cover 804 hectares in total. A key site owned by the charity is Rainton Meadows, which boasts an award-winning Wild Play area as well as 74 hectares of ponds, woodland, grassland, and wetland habitat. Rainton Meadows and another significant wildlife area, Low Barns, have impressive visitor centres for visitors to enjoy. The charity is one of 47 similar conservation charities operating across the UK that constitute The Wildlife Trusts Partnership.

Wildlife education is at the heart of the charity. Its Revealing Reptiles project, for example, aims to open peoples’ eyes up to dwindling reptile population numbers and the dangers this poses for the survival of species. Another example is the Living Uplands project that provides schools with free educational resources about the Black Grouse, one of the most endangered birds in the UK. The project helps promote science and literacy skills. The Durham Wildlife Trust benefits from the patronage of famous television personality Dr David Bellamy, and the 300 volunteers who contributed 5,155 work days in 2016/17 worth £257,750.

In the accounting year 2016/17, the trust received £319,681 in legacies and donations from individuals. However, the principal component of philanthropic income consists of grants from charitable trusts and foundations for conservation and environmental education.

Vital Statistics (year to 31/03/2017)

Website
https://durhamwt.com/

References