Durham Wildlife Trust facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Durham Wildlife Trust

Rainton Meadows Visitor Centre, HQ of Durham Wildlife Trust
Formation	1971
Type	Registered charity
Headquarters	Rainton Meadows, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, England

The Durham Wildlife Trust is a special group that works to protect nature. It's a charity that started in 1971. Back then, it was called the Durham County Conservation Trust. In 1988, it changed its name to Durham Wildlife Trust.

This trust helps wildlife all over the old County Durham area. This includes places like Darlington, Gateshead, South Tyneside, and Sunderland.

The Durham Wildlife Trust is part of a bigger family of charities called the Wildlife Trusts. There are 46 of these groups across the U.K. You can spot them by their badger logo! Each trust works on its own to save wildlife in its local area. These trusts are supported by people who become members.

The Durham Wildlife Trust looks after 50 nature reserves. These are special places where animals and plants can live safely. The reserves include old forests (called ancient woodland), open heathland, green meadows, and wet areas (called wetlands). They have helped save important natural spots in the North East of England.

Today, the Durham Wildlife Trust keeps finding and protecting new reserves. They also run big projects to help nature.

Cool Projects for Nature

The Durham Wildlife Trust leads many exciting projects. They also work with other groups to help nature in the local area. Right now, they are working to protect animals like the great crested newt, the water vole, and the barn owl. They even helped otters come back to the rivers in the county! Here are some of their recent projects:

Heart of Durham

The Heart of Durham project is a team effort between the Durham Wildlife Trust and Northumbrian Water. It focuses on the edge of the North Pennines. This area stretches from the Derwent Reservoir in the north to Hamsterley Forest in the south. The main goal is to fix up and create new natural areas. This helps wildlife have more space to live and grow across a large area.

Nextdoor Nature

Nextdoor Nature is a big project funded by the UK National Lottery. It's worth £5 million! Wildlife Trusts all over the country are running it. This project will leave a lasting natural gift from Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. Nextdoor Nature wants to create many community-led projects. These projects help bring nature back to local areas, often called rewilding. It's part of a bigger £22 million Lottery plan to celebrate the Jubilee and make life better for people in less fortunate areas.

Through Nextdoor Nature, the Durham Wildlife Trust helps groups and schools in Sunderland, South Tyneside, East Durham, and Darlington. They encourage everyone to work together. The aim is to bring wildlife back and improve nature right where people live.

Discover Brightwater

The Discover Brightwater project is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It aims to explore, fix, and celebrate the history and nature of the Brightwater area. This area is around the River Skerne. The Durham Wildlife Trust leads this big partnership project. It includes 19 different smaller projects! These projects improve river habitats and create new wetlands. They also involve local communities in learning about history and archaeology around the River Skerne. This project runs from 2018 to the end of 2023.

Healing Nature

The Healing Nature Project ran from January 2021 to March 2022. It was funded by the government's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Also, Gateshead Council, South Tyneside Council, and Sunderland Council helped fund it.

This project worked on 20 sites across Gateshead, Sunderland, and South Tyneside. They improved habitats for wildlife. They also helped people and communities connect with their local green spaces. Over 845 people joined public events. More than 531 children from 29 schools learned about nature through this project. They managed large areas of grassland and planted many hedgerows and trees. They also planted 14,000 wildflower bulbs!

What Else They Do

Education

Teaching people about nature is a very important part of the Trust's work. Their main learning center is at Rainton Meadows, near Houghton-le-Spring. This center is easy to reach for people in Sunderland, Gateshead, and South Tyneside. It has an indoor classroom and a meeting area. There's also a second learning center at Low Barns, near Bishop Auckland. This center is great for outdoor activities.

Besides their own centers, the Trust also visits schools and community groups. Their staff go out to teach people about wildlife and nature.

Amazing Nature Reserves

Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve, looking towards the village of East Rainton

The Trust manages many nature reserves. Some of these include Bishop Middleham Quarry, Hawthorn Dene, and Low Barns. These places have different important habitats. For example, they have special grasslands on Magnesian Limestone, high-up hay meadows, and coastal valleys. The magnesian limestone grasslands are some of the best of their kind.

The Trust's biggest reserve is Hedleyhope Fell, near Tow Law. It's huge, over 200 hectares! It's one of the best examples of recovering heathland in the county. This type of habitat is rare in County Durham. The site is super important because it's home to many rare plants and animals. These include lesser skullcap, stag's-horn clubmoss, and the velvet ant. The velvet ant hasn't been seen anywhere else in the county! It's also a great place for many birds to breed. Plus, it's an important spot for the green hairstreak butterfly.

Some of Their Reserves

The Trust looks after 50 reserves. Here are a few examples of these special places: