Press Releases 

Tuesday 20^th November 2018 – Somerset Wildlife Trust’s project ‘Homes for Herons’ has been selected to take part in The Big Give Christmas Challenge – the UK’s biggest online match funding campaign -  which helps charities raise funds for good causes during a week-long campaign. 

The Big Give Christmas Challenge campaign runs between midday on Tuesday 27^th November and midday on 4^th December online. All online donations given to Homes for Herons in this week will be matched by generous third party pledgers. If we reach the £10,750 target online, this will bring the total raised in one week to £21,500 -  an amount which will have a lasting impact on the future of heron species in Somerset.

Monday 19^th November - On Tuesday 13^th November, Somerset Wildlife Trust joined forces with community groups, companies, schools and local people to clean up the town for Taunton’s wildlife and wellbeing.

Groups from Viridor, Pennon Group, South West Water and Inland Waterways Association came together at COACH to paddle the River Tone in canoes and kayaks with instructors from Channel Adventure, cleaning as they went, and combed the riverbanks and footpaths for discarded litter – helped by Shane Austin – a seasoned litter-picker who frequently clears rubbish from the local rivers and canals in his kayak.

22nd Oct - This Autumn Somerset Wildlife Trust will be collecting seed from a variety of trees across its Mendip reserves as part of a national project to protect the UK’s trees by creating a huge tree seed bank. Somerset Wildlife Trust is part of the UK National Tree Seed Project, which has been set up by Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, and made possible with funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

24- September 2018 - Somerset Wildlife Trust is proud to launch a new initiative for Taunton that aims to work together with local businesses, community groups, schools and residents to clean up the town for both people and wildlife, ensuring our green spaces and waterways are attractive and healthy places for everyone to enjoy, and help our urban wildlife to survive and thrive. 

26^th September - Wessex Water has provided funding to the Somerset Wildlife Trust for their Blackwater and Brown hairstreaks project. As part of their Biodiversity Action Plan since 1998 Wessex Water offer funding to practical conservation and research projects across their region.

Monday 10^th, 2018 - Somerset Wildlife Trust is today launching a second round of its Somerset’s Brilliant Coast Appeal to ensure that the county’s first ever coastal survey, which was started in 2016, can be completed by Spring.  Funds raised through the first appeal were not enough, so it is now appealing to the public and its supporters to help once more as it endeavors to provide the powerful evidence needed to support better decision making for Somerset’s coast - a hugely undervalued asset in the county that is under increasing threat. 

1^st August 2018- Somerset Wildlife Trust is pleased to announce that it is able to start a vital piece of its coastal conservation programme following it securing funds from the Community Impact Mitigation Fund, negotiated with EDF Energy as part of a wider mitigation package for the site preparation works at Hinkley Point in West Somerset. The funds will enable the Trust to carry out a three year coastal project focusing on connecting people who live, visit and work on the coast with our stunning coastline – a place that has been little explored, valued or understood to date

17th July 2018 – Melhuish & Saunders Ltd is a family-run construction company, established in 1923 and based in Glastonbury. Their work is mainly based in Somerset, including Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, as well as Wiltshire, Dorset and East Devon. A large proportion of their work is public-sector funded, for schools, healthcare and even the Somerset Earth Science Centre at Moonshill Quarry, where Somerset Wildlife Trust recently held their Volunteer Day. They are committed to improving their environmental performance and are also interested in developing their community links and supporting environmental protection by working alongside Somerset Wildlife Trust.

 17 July 2018 – Somerset Wildlife Trust is very pleased to welcome Branston as a new Corporate Partner.  Still privately owned, Branston specialises in supplying potatoes to supermarkets such as Tesco and Waitrose. Beginning as a farmers’ cooperative in the 1960s, Branston has grown into a large and forward-thinking fresh produce company with three sites across the UK, including one right here in Somerset.

12^th July 2018 - To raise awareness of how Somerset is uniquely vulnerable to many aspects of climate change, through rising sea levels and storm events. The Somerset Federation of the WI and Somerset Wildlife Trust held a combined event during the Climate Coalition’s ‘Speak Up Week’ (30^th June to 8^th July 2018), which is designed to bring people together across the UK to express their concerns about the impacts of climate change, and highlight where communities could be at risk if people don’t work together and take action now.