NOTTINGHAMSHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST

A BRIEF AND POTTED HISTORY

The Wildlife Trusts

The very first Wildlife Trust was formed in Lincolnshire before the war as the Lincolnshire Trust for Nature Conservation and provided the prototype for the network of county Trusts that has grown up over the years. This has developed into a network of 46 county based Trusts with over 300,000 members and managing some 200,000 acres of land. During it`s history the grouping under went several name changes with the latest incarnation being the Wildlife Trusts with a national Badger logo, replacing most of the county logo's. Each of the county Trust`s is a separate charity with the grouping and it`s council and management is decided by the local membership.

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

In the mid 1960s Ted Smith of the Lincolnshire Trust for Nature Conservation held meetings all over the country galvanising people into setting up county T.N.C.s. In Notts a meeting was arranged, attended by the officers of the Trent Valley Birdwatchers, the Nottm & Notts Field Club and lecturers in natural sciences at Nottm University. From this meeting the Trust Council was formed, the Chairman of the Field Club being the first chairman. The Notts Rural Community Council provided the secretariat at their premises at the Shire Hall and later at 110 Mansfield Road and NWT rented a room in which Trust goods were housed.

Soon after the Trust was formed the CEGB applied for planning permission to dump in the Attenborough Gravel Pits fly ash from Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station which was about to be built. Tony Kent, a Trust member and lecturer at Nottm University was using the gravel pits as a training ground for some of his students. The Trust and Beeston UDC objected, the CEGB withdrew the application and the owners, Trent Gravels Ltd entered into an agreement with the Trust whereby the disused gravel pits were maintained as a reserve - the first.

During the 1960s and 70s the Trust collected information about roadside verges and other sites of wildlife interest and many members took part in working parties at Attenborough N.R. By 1973 the Trust had two small reserves on leased property, at Clarborough Tunnel Top near Retford and Fairham Brook, Retford.

In 1973 the Trust became a landowner for the first time when it bought Treswell Wood near Retford, having launched a public appeal to collect the money for the purchase. By 1975 the Trust was also managing reserves at Kimberley Cutting and Martin's Pond, Wollaton and roadside verges at Spalford north of Newark and Trent Lane, Nottingham.

Norman Lewis was appointed as Conservation Officer in 1975 and became the Trust`s first paid employee. He supervised management tasks on the reserves, liaised with farmers, landowners, local authorities, as well as maintaining contacts with our local groups, surveyed possible new sites for new nature reserves etc. By 1977 he was the the Trust's representative on the newly formed Farming and Wildlife Group. In 1981 Susan Page was appointed Watch Development Officer with the help of a generous grant from the Nature Conservancy Council and Watch got off the ground in Notts.

1981 saw the purchase of Dyscarr Wood near Worksop, Eakring Meadows near Newark and Stonepit Plantation, Nottingham and concluded agreements to manage reserves at Lady Lee Quarry, Worksop, Bentinck Banks, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Wilwell Farm Cutting, Nottingham, West Burton Meadow near Retford and a reserve for the disabled at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. Arrangements to lease part of the Idle Washlands were almost complete.

By 1983 the Notts RCC moved their office to Southwell and, because the Trust thought Southwell would be an inconvenient base, J. McMeekings firm provided the Trust's registered office until 1986). The Trust engaged its second paid employee Margaret Birkinshaw, as part time Development Secretary. During the early 1980s the Trust had 26 reserves and the present system of local groups was put in place..

Money has always been a problem. The Trust has been most grateful to receive grants from bodies such as the WWF, local authorities, firms and charities and much time and effort has been spent by some of our honorary officers seeking sources of funding. But in 1984 it was decided to launch another public appeal for funding. In the same year BBC Radio Nottingham publicised the appeal for money to buy Kirton Wood near Ollerton.

We now had so many reserves that management purely relying on volunteers was completely inadequate. Help from the Manpower Services Commission Community Programme for the young unemployed and the Community Service Offenders Scheme proved to be a godsend whilst it lasting into the early 1990`s.

The Nottingham Urban Wildlife Scheme was launchedin 1985 and the Trust now had 33 reserves. In 1986 the Trust leased rooms at 310 Sneinton Dale, set up an office there, appointed its third employee, John Ellis, Admin. Officer and purchased a computer. By 1988 the name was changed to the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust..

In 1991 two subsidiary trading companies were set up - East Midlands Environmental Consultants Ltd and Notts Wildlife Trust Trading Co. Ltd, all profits being covenanted back to the Trust.

The Trust appointed Peter Stone its first Director in 1994, under whom there were 8 paid employees. The Trust now had 50 reserves, of which 15 were wholly owned and 2 partly owned by the Trust. 20 of the reserves were SSSI`s. The trust had a membership of approx 2,600. In 1995 the Trust joined the Gabe Manion scheme for doorstep recruiters, over the next few years this would lead to a significant increase in members and income. Over the same period the Trust magazine changed to colour, initaily using advertising, although the amount of adverts did not prove popular.

1996 saw the Trust moving into a new office - The Ragged school, Brook Str, Nottm - purchased from the City Council for £1, this consisted of the dilapidated (almost collapsing) shell of an old Poor school. It was also a Grade 1 listed building and with £1.5 million worth of funding has been restored and converted into a set of offices for the Trust and EMEC. Even the extension are in the appropriate style.

In 1997 NWT obtained a major increase in funding with the Heritage Lottery Funding grant of £500,000 over 5 years (this was part of a national deal for the Wildlife Trusts). This enabled the Trust to employee three extra members of staff on the reserve management team. During this time there was also an increased emphasis on professional fund raising, with a team of three employed to "get in the grants". About this time NWT decided to adopted the national Badger logo as part of a drive for wider recognition of the Wildlife Trust. The loss of the old Stag logo was not popular with some of the long term members and caused some stir at the AGM. However the majority of the membership was unconcerned.

During 1999 two significant acquisitions occurred. The first part of the extensive Besthorpe Quarry reserve was handed over to the Trust. This is part of a 20 year reclamation process that converts the mining to a nature reserve of over 200 acres, as each section is completed by Redland Aggregates. The other major development was the acquisition of the flying flock of sheep and shepherd Peter Kemp, to be used primarily on heath land restoration and grassland management across the county.

By the end of 1999 the growth of the Trust has continued. It manages some 60 sites totalling in excess of 2,000 acres, which makes it a major land owner/manager in the county. It has a staff of 18 employees, 23 vehicles and a flock of sheep, a planned expenditure of 750 k per annum and has a membership of 4,100

(Much of the above was put together by Margaret Price using in part the 1973 - 1994 Annual Reports. Margaret is a founder member of the Trust and still a tireless worker for the Trust, a fact recognised by her being made a Vice President of the Trust.).