A History of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
(previously the Wiltshire Trust for Nature Conservation)
In 1962, Charles Floyd, the first chairman, supported by Lady Radnor, the first president, brought together a group of like-minded landowners and naturalists concerned for the conservation of the county's wildlife, and formed the Wiltshire Trust for Nature Conservation (WTNC).
The Trust’s formation in 1962 was out of concern for the colony of Purple Emperor (Apatura iris) butterflies in Blackmoor Copse. Local naturalists were also worried about the loss of downland to agricultural intensification. Whereas in 1939 there had been 13,000 acres under barley, by 1963 this figure was over 130,000 acres, and a downland survey in the summer of 1963 found that nine Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status had been either ploughed or damaged.
In the early days of the Trust there were no paid staff, no premises for a HQ, and all the work was done with dedicated commitment by a small group of founders and members. The first paid secretary (part-time) was enlisted in 1973, and the first Field and Development officers in 1974. A shop and small office were acquired in 1982.
To start with there was a positive avoidance of ownership and direct management of sites by the Trust. Reserves were established by gentlemen's agreements between the Trust and friendly landowners, with the Trust offering advice and doing some monitoring. But in many cases management advice was not followed leading to a gradual change in policy from about 1980.
In the mid 1980s the Trust was under the chairmanship of Major-General Robin Brockbank with Professor Humphrey Kay chairing the Conservation Committee. It now became an important aim to try and purchase land for direct Trust control, or to persuade the landowner to bequeath land to the Trust. Our first Reserve on chalk downland, Cockey Down near Salisbury, came to the Trust in 1986 by a bequest.
In 1974, an independent organisation, the Wiltshire Wildlife Conservation Volunteers had been formed, since then this has been a mainstay of Trust reserve management.
In 1985 Wiltshire was one of the first counties to have a computerised system for biological records. Although still underfunded, the Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Records Centre is now an integral part of the Trust providing an essential service to Wiltshire and Swindon.
In 1988 the Silver Jubilee appeal gave rise to the Sarsen Trail, a sponsored walk from Avebury to Stonehenge, later augmented by the Neolithic marathon over the same track. This has become an annual event and is the Trust’s largest fund raising event.
Finally the Trust got into top gear following the appointment, in 1990, of its Director, Dr Gary Mantle. Membership of the Trust has grown dramatically in recent years, particularly as the Trust has widened its appeal to the public with a more general interest in nature and environmental issues.
The Trust was the first to gain from the National Lottery at its inception in 1995 and by 2007 had received 27 different lottery grants amounting to £5.3million and was the first Environmental Body to benefit from the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme and by 2007, principally through the support of the Hills Group (a local aggregates and waste company) the Trust had received over £3.5million.
In 1995 the Trust embraced Local Agenda 21, an initiative that began at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. In 2000 it amended its constitution to include as a charitable object the advancement of the education of the public in the principles and practice of sustainable development, recycling and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Other Wildlife Trusts following a similar route subsequently used this revised constitution. In 2000 the Trust Director was awarded an MBE for services to nature conservation.
At the start of the new millennium, the Trust began to shift its approach to nature conservation and began to promote the idea of ‘Rebuilding Biodiversity’. A new approach was needed through which large areas managed for wildlife were interlinked by a permeable landscape through which wildlife could travel freely. In 2003, the South West Wildlife Trusts launched a major report into Rebuilding Biodiversity. In 2004 the Trust bought 255ha at Blakehill Farm and began the largest neutral grassland restoration project in the country.
By 2007 with the threat of climate change now widely accepted, the work of the Trust is focused around this issue. The Trust remains committed to promoting community action, working with young people, promoting environmentally friendly actions and life-styles and inspiring people about nature and the environment.