Durham Wildlife Trust

Durham Wildlife Trust is a registered charity[1] that was established in 1971, originally as the Durham County Conservation Trust, becoming Durham Wildlife Trust in 1988.[2] The Trust operates across the area of the old County Durham, which includes Darlington, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland.[3]

Durham Wildlife Trust
Formation1971
TypeRegistered charity
HeadquartersRainton Meadows, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, England
Websitewww.durhamwt.com

Durham Wildlife Trust is part of the federation of 46 charities across the U.K. that together form the Wildlife Trusts. Recognised by their badger logo, each individual Wildlife Trust is an independent organisation conserving wildlife in its local area. The Trusts are membership organisations.[2]

Durham Wildlife Trust manages 50 nature reserves between the Tees and the Tyne. The reserves include areas of ancient woodland, heathland, meadows, wetlands and more, and have helped to save important natural areas in the North East from destruction.[2]

Today Durham Wildlife Trust continues to acquire new reserves and run large scale conservation projects.

Projects

Durham Wildlife Trust leads and partners on numerous projects across the local area. The Trust is currently involved in projects to protect species such as the great crested newt, the water vole[4] and the barn owl, and played an important part in helping to re-establish otters across the county's river catchments. Current and recent projects include the following.[5]

Heart of Durham

The Heart of Durham project is a partnership between Durham Wildlife Trust and Northumbrian Water Limited.[6] It is based around the edge of the North Pennines, from the Derwent Reservoir in the north to Hamsterley Forest in the south. The aim of the project is to restore and recreate areas of habitat so as to create spaces where wildlife can thrive on a landscape scale.

Nextdoor Nature

The Nextdoor Nature initiative is a £5m UK National Lottery funded project to be delivered by Wildlife Trusts across the country and will leave a natural legacy from the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.[7] Nextdoor Nature aims to create a network of community-led rewilding projects across the nation – all part of a total £22m of Lottery investment to mark the Jubilee and improve the lives of people from disadvantaged areas across the UK.[8]

Through Nextdoor Nature, Durham Wildlife Trust supports community groups and schools across Sunderland, South Tyneside, East Durham, and Darlington, encouraging them to work with the wider community to bring wildlife back and make a difference for nature close to where they live.[9]

Discover Brightwater

The Discover Brightwater Landscape Project is a National Lottery Heritage Fund supported project that aims to reveal, restore and celebrate the heritage of the Brightwater area - the River Skerne catchment.[10] Durham Wildlife Trust are the programme leaders for this Landscape Partnership, which involves 19 different project streams including river habitat improvements, wetland creation, heritage and archaeology involving local communities around the River Skerne catchment from Trimdon Parish[11] in the north to Darlington in the south and Shildon in the west. The project runs from the beginning of 2018 to the end of 2023.

Healing Nature

The Healing Nature Project[12] ran from January 2021 until March 2022 and was a Green Recovery Challenge Fund[13] project, funded by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and Gateshead Council, South Tyneside Council, and Sunderland Council.

The project undertook habitat work for wildlife conservation and engaged people and communities with their local area and greenspaces across 20 sites spread across Gateshead, Sunderland and South Tyneside. Public events were attended by over 845 people on project sites and over 531 children from over 29 schools engaged with nature through Healing Nature. Activities included 47.4 hectares of grassland management, 650 m of hedgerow planted, 1.15 hectares of native broadleaf woodland planted and 14,000 wildflower bulbs planted.

Activities

Durham Biodiversity Partnership

The Durham Biodiversity Partnership, which covers the same geographic area as Durham Wildlife Trust, was established in 1996 to oversee the development, implementation and monitoring of the Durham Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), which is the medium through which the United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan is translated into action within the county of Durham. Members of the Partnership include a wide range of organisations and individuals who have an interest in the BAP.[14]

Durham Wildlife Trust plays an important role in the Partnership. It provides a home for the Partnership at Rainton Meadows, and is represented on the Partnership's steering group, alongside representatives from Natural England, the Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission, Northumbrian Water, the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, the North East Biodiversity Forum, and the County, City and Borough Councils within the area.[15] The Trust also operates, on behalf of the Partnership, the Durham Biodiversity Data Service, which provides high-quality species and habitat data.[16]

Durham Wildlife Services Ltd

Durham Wildlife Services is the Trust's consultancy arm, providing an ecological consultancy service to businesses and local authorities. Services offered include preliminary ecological appraisals, assessment of biodiversity net gain and protected species surveys. Profits generated by DWS support the work of Durham Wildlife Trust.[17]

Education

Education is an important aspect of the Trust's work. The main education centre is at Rainton Meadows, near Houghton-le-Spring; as well as being conveniently close to the most populous parts of the county, in Sunderland, Gateshead and South Tyneside, this centre has an indoor classroom and conference centre. At Low Barns, near Bishop Auckland, there is a second education centre, which caters primarily to outdoor activities.

In addition to educational facilities at its own sites, the Trust also has an educational outreach programme, under which Trust staff make visits schools or community groups.[18]

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

Nature Reserves managed by the Trust include Bishop Middleham Quarry, Hawthorn Dene and Low Barns, and include a range of important habitats, such as Magnesian Limestone grasslands, upland hay meadows and coastal denes. The magnesian limestone grasslands managed by the Trust represent some of the finest examples of this particular habitat type.

The Trust's largest reserve is Hedleyhope Fell, near Tow Law at over 200 ha. It is one of the finest examples of recovering mid-altitude heathland in the county – a rare habitat in County Durham. The site is very important because it supports a range of rare and uncommon flora and fauna, including lesser skullcap, stag's-horn clubmoss and the velvet ant, which has not been recorded anywhere else in the County. It is also home to a large number of breeding birds and is an important site for the green hairstreak butterfly.

Sites

The 50 reserves that the Trust currently manages include the following:[19]

Reserve [A] Area (ha) Grid reference [B] Owner
Addison and Hedgefield 14.0 NZ167641 DWT
Baal Hill Wood 15.5 NZ069392 DWT
Barlow Burn 20.0 NZ156618 DWT
Bishop Middleham Quarry 10.0 NZ332326 Leased from Church Commissioners
Black Plantation 13.8 NZ137449 DWT
Blackhall Rocks 32.4 NZ470392 Leased from Durham County Council
Burnhope Pond 14.1 NZ183480 Leased from Durham County Council
Chopwell Meadows 17.0 NZ113584 DWT (part of site was former Chopwell Colliery)
Edmondsley Wood 12.5 NZ229493 DWT
Hannah's Meadows 8.8 NY934187 DWT
Hawthorn Dene 67.0 NZ433458 DWT / National Trust
Hedleyhope Fell 202.0 NZ139409 DWT
Hesleden Dene 8.5 NZ444377 DWT
High Wood NR 2.5 NZ128562 DWT
Joe's Pond 4.5 NZ328487 DWT
Longburnford Quarry 1.0 NZ072448 DWT
Low Barns 50 NZ163313 DWT
Malton NR 4.5 NZ182458 Leased from Durham County Council
Milkwellburn Wood 79.0 NZ114570 DWT
Rabbitbank Wood 7.0 NZ112483 DWT
Ragpath Heath 3.5 NZ144448 DWT
Rainton Meadows 60.0 NZ326485 UK Coal Ltd / City of Sunderland
Raisby Hill Grassland 11.5 NZ335355 DWT /Tarmac
Redcar Field 0.4 NZ292198 DWT / Natural England
Shibdon Pond 13.7 NZ194628 Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead Council
Stanley Moss NR 7.5 NZ150388 DWT
Town Kelloe Bank 5.0 NZ357371 DWT
Trimdon Grange Quarry 5.0 NZ361353 Leased from Durham County Council
Tudhoe Mill Wood 37.5 NZ254357 DWT / Whitwirth Estates

Notes
A Durham Wildlife Trust has listed information on habitats and access on each of its reserves on its website.[20]
B Grid references use the British national grid reference system (OSGB36), the system used on Ordnance Survey maps.[21] The grid reference for each reserve relates to the approximate centre of the reserve.

References
  1. "Durham Wildlife Trust, registered charity no. 501038". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  2. "About Us". Durham Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  3. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. "County Durham AncC through time | Census tables with data for the Ancient Count". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  4. "Naturally Native". www.durhamwt.com. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  5. "Projects". www.durhamwt.com. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  6. "Heart of Durham". Durham Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  7. "Nextdoor Nature". The Wildlife Trusts. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  8. "£5m to improve access to nature and combat climate change". Heritage Fund. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  9. "Nextdoor Nature". www.durhamwt.com. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  10. "Brightwater Landscape Partnership". Discover Brightwater. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  11. "Trimdon Parish Council – County Durham". trimdonparishcouncil.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  12. "Healing Nature". www.durhamwt.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  13. "Green Recovery Challenge Fund round 1 | The National Lottery Heritage Fund". www.heritagefund.org.uk. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  14. "Durham Biodiversity Partnership". Durham Wildlife Trust. 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  15. "Partnership". Durham Biodiversity Partnership. 2010. Archived from the original on 4 September 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  16. "Durham Biodiversity Data Service". Durham Wildlife Trust. 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  17. "Durham Wildlife Services". www.durhamwt.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  18. "Educational Outreach". Durham Wildlife Trust.
  19. "Nature Reserves". Durham Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  20. There are Durham Wildlife Trust information sheets for some reserves. Retrieved on 2010-08-07. (PDF files).
    • "Baal Hill Woods" (PDF). Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Bishop Middleham Quarry" (PDF). Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Blackhall Rocks" (PDF). Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Burnhope Pond" (PDF). Archived from the original on 16 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Edmondsley Wood" (PDF). Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Hannah's Meadows" (PDF). Archived from the original on 16 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Hawthorn Dene" (PDF). Archived from the original on 16 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Hesleden Dene" (PDF). Archived from the original on 16 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "High Wood" (PDF). Archived from the original on 16 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Joe's Pond" (PDF). Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Low Barns" (PDF). Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Malton" (PDF). Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Rabbit Bank Wood" (PDF). Archived from the original on 16 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Rainton Meadows" (PDF). Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Raisby Hill Grassland" (PDF). Archived from the original on 16 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Redcar Field" (PDF). Archived from the original on 16 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Shibdon Pond" (PDF). Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Town Kelloe Bank" (PDF). Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Trimdon Grange Quarry" (PDF). Archived from the original on 16 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    • "Tudhoe Mill Wood" (PDF). Archived from the original on 16 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  21. "Beginner's guide to grid references". Ordnance Survey. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
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