Press Releases 

It’s not too late to save UK nature but we must act now to put nature back where it belongs - that is the conclusion from a coalition of more than 50 leading wildlife and research organisations behind the State of Nature 2016 report , including the Wildlife trusts, which is being launched by Sir David Attenborough at the Royal Society in London today.

The once-extinct large blue butterfly, reintroduced to the UK in 1984, flew in its highest numbers for at least 80 years this summer, due to the combined efforts of the Large Blue Project, Somerset Wildlife Trust, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and their project partners, belying widely-reported warnings that 2016 could be the worst year on record for British butterflies.

 Somerset Wildlife Trust is delighted to welcome three new Wildlife Trainees to the team! 

Planting bee-friendly flowers and cutting grass less often are among five simple steps the British public are being urged to take to help our precious pollinators thrive—as, despite public concern about bee populations, more than half of those asked say they have not taken any pollinator-friendly actions in the last year.

This year's National Meadows Day is promising to be the biggest yet, with up to 100 events taking place across England, Scotland, N. Ireland and Wales in celebration of ancient wildflower meadows and their wildlife.  People in Somerset will have the opportunity to experience first-hand the wonder of a flower-rich meadow on their doorstep.

Somerset Wildlife Trust is pleased to announce the full line-up of events and activities for this year’s Taunton Wildlife Week – an annual celebration of the town’s green spaces and wild places, and the wildlife that lives there.  Launched on Saturday 18th June as part of ‘Somerfest’, and continuing through to Sunday 26th June, Taunton Wildlife Week is part of SWT’s ‘30 Days Wild’ initiative – one that aims to encourage people to insert nature into their everyday life  to make us happier and healthier.

Students studying Countryside Management in Year 1 and 2 of their BTEC Diploma at Bridgwater College have completed practical work at Westhay Moor National Nature Reserve on the Avalon Marshes as part of an ongoing schedule of works to support Somerset Wildlife Trust’s work in that area.

The work of Somerset Wildlife Trust across the county and the public’s love of wildlife bridged the generation gap today as the organisation said thank you to two wonderful fundraisers.

Thanks to some generous funding from Martin Stanley, one of Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Trustees, we are delighted to welcome Olivia Dullaghan to the team as our very first Visitor Experience Officer. Olivia will be out and about this Spring and Summer across our flagship nature reserves in the Avalon Marshes and Cheddar area, inspiring people about the fantastic wildlife that there is to see on our Nature Reserves, and helping visitors with any questions they might have.

People who do something ‘wild’ every day for a month change their attitude to nature and report improvements in their physical and mental wellbeing, according to new research, which places nature connection at the heart of a happy and healthy life.