Somerset Wildlife Trust Celebrates 60th Anniversary

Somerset Wildlife Trust Celebrates 60th Anniversary

Somerset’s largest nature charity celebrates diamond anniversary with species count, photography competition, and one-time-only Gala Dinner

Somerset Wildlife Trust has been working across the county to restore and protect our wildlife and wild places since 1964. This year, the Trust is celebrating its 60th anniversary, and it will be hosting a series of exciting themed events and ways for people to get involved in to help make a difference for nature in Somerset while celebrating a successful 60 years of nature recovery.

A brief history of the charity

On the 14th February 1964, 15 people gathered at Taunton Castle for a ‘pre-formation’ meeting to discuss setting up a county trust for nature conservation. These founders each paid £1 as initial capital to establish the Somerset Trust for Nature Conservation (STNC), which was officially founded in September that year. Thirty years later, STNC would be renamed Somerset Wildlife Trust.

In the six decades since the Trust was formed, it has gone from strength to strength. It acquired its first 17-acres of its flagship nature reserve, Westhay Moor National Nature Reserve, at the end of 1964, and by 1982, the Trust was responsible for 32 nature reserves, 10 of which it owned outright. Today, Somerset Wildlife Trust manages nearly 2,000 hectares of land across 66 reserves spread across the county.

As a science-led movement, the Trust is focused on restoring natural habitats to support a wide range of wildlife and restore natural processes that are essential for healthy landscapes, and provide vital services such as clean air and water, food, carbon absorption and flood alleviation.

Celebrating 60 years of conservation

As the Trust enters its 60th year, it is working as hard as ever to support nature’s recovery in Somerset, with vital support from over 23,000 members and the involvement of over 300 volunteers.

To celebrate this monumental milestone, it will be hosting a series of celebratory events that you can get involved with, including:

Diamond Dinner & Gala

An unforgettable evening of celebration at Taunton School, taking place on Friday 30th August. Look forward to an evening of black-tie elegance, fine food and drinks and live music from The Haus Band. Early Bird tickets are currently available until 1st June.

Book your place

Photography Competition

Celebrate the wild places and wildlife of Somerset and be in with the chance of winning a private guided tour at Westhay Moor National Nature Reserve – entries open 1st May!

'Spot 60 Species' Count

Make wildlife count, literally, by signing up to iNaturalist and spotting 60 species from 29th April until 30th September.

Be part of the story

What does nature and Somerset Wildlife Trust mean to you? Share your memories about the special places the Trust cares for and the special people who’ve made their work possible by following the button below!

Share your memories

Mark the occassion with an e-card

Demonstrate the ‘power of a pound’, just like the Trust’s founders did, by sending Somerset Wildlife Trust a 60th birthday e-card and donating £1.

Send an e-card

60th Annual General Meeting (AGM)

The Trust looks forward to welcoming you to their Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Members’ Day in Wells on Saturday 9th November. Save the date and keep an eye on their website and the Autumn/Winter magazine for more details.

This year we celebrate the genius and forethought of the Trust’s original 15 founders, who sought from the beginning to prevent the unnecessary destruction of Somerset’s wildlife and help to preserve places of special natural history. They recognised the desperate need to take action to secure the future of wildlife in our wonderful and diverse county and, sixty years later, their ambitions have become reality in important and exceptional ways.

Our goal has always been to protect, preserve and restore Somerset’s wildlife and wild places, and now is the perfect time to reflect on how the Trust has grown to be Somerset’s leading environmental charity with over 23,000 members, which could only have been achieved through the hard work and dedication of our staff, members and volunteers. This year we want to remember and thank everyone involved over the past 60 years and plan for the next 60+ years to create a Somerset where nature and people are thriving.
Georgia Dent, CEO
Somerset Wildlife Trust

Further Information

Press Office

PR Lead – emily.weatherburn@somersetwildlife.org / 07840 840737
Content & Communications Officer – ben.neenan@somersetwildlife.org / 07548 764279

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Somerset Wildlife Trust, 34 Wellington Rd, Taunton TA1 5AW
Somersetwildlife.org

About Somerset Wildlife Trust

Somerset Wildlife Trust is a nature conservation charity. Its purpose is to restore and protect the populations of species across the county and the habitats they call home. Climate change is one of the greatest threats to nature, natural habitats and the ecosystems that support our life on earth.  Our aims are to help address both the ecological and climate crises and put nature back into people’s lives. 

Nature reserves and protected sites on their own are not enough. In order to reverse the decline in species diversity and abundance, and create resilient landscapes and habitats for wildlife and for people that can adapt to climate change, we need to:  

  • Encourage and support landowners to manage their land positively for nature; create more space for nature. 

  • Connect wildlife-rich spaces across the wider landscape to create a robust Nature Recovery Network for Somerset. 

  • Create a movement of people – at least 1 in 4 – that take action for nature’s recovery across Somerset as part of Team Wilder.

This is at the core of our new 10-year strategy. Nationally the Wildlife Trusts are calling for at least 30% of land to be managed positively for nature by 2030. What we do in Somerset must contribute to that national ambition. You can read your full 10-year strategy, Wilder Somerset, here.