About us
Our vision
Shropshire Wildlife Trust (SWT) has a vision of a thriving natural world, where Shropshire's wildlife and natural habitats play a valued role in addressing the climate and ecological emergencies, and people are inspired and empowered to take action for nature.
We combine projects across Shropshire (including Telford & Wrekin) with advocacy and campaigning to restore nature and to engage people. We manage over 40 nature reserves and have almost 50 staff, 300 volunteers, and over 9000 members.
SWT is an autonomous charity, but we are increasingly working collectively, as part of The Wildlife Trusts (TWT), to ensure that our local actions have a national impact and help to address global issues.
Who we are
We are governed by our Board of Trustees, who oversee the governance and strategic leadership of the Trust. We receive no core governmental funding: our work is made possible by the generosity of our members and other supporters.
Our team of staff work across multiple departments, including reserves and conservation, education and communities, land and water, operations and development plus our visitor services.
We are supported by an enthusiastic team of over volunteers and our 10 local branches who provide essential help in our nature recovery and engagement work
Read about our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
Our offices are based at The Cut Visitor Centre, in the heart of Shrewsbury.
What we do
Our work is focused around our three goals which are that:
1. Shropshire's nature is in recovery with abundant, diverse wildlife and natural processes creating wilder land and rivers where people and nature thrive - our aim is for 30% of land managed for nature.
2. People are taking action for nature and the climate, resulting in better decision making for the environment - we'd like to see 1 in 4 people taking meaningful action for nature.
3. Nature is playing a central and valued role in helping to address the local and global problems - allowing nature based solutions to be adopted.
Your support
We are the only charitable organisation in the county focused solely on nature conservation in Shropshire. Ours is a beautiful county, but nature here has suffered decades of destruction, just as it has elsewhere.
We need your support to help turn our vision of nature recovery into reality. Shropshire Wildlife Trust is one of 46 Wildlife Trusts working across the UK. For 60 years we have worked to protect Shropshire’s special places and wildlife for generations to come.
Saving wild places
We manage over 40 Nature Reserves across Shropshire. Ancient woods, flower-rich grasslands, wetlands and heathland - our nature reserves provide habitats for a wide range of wildlife. They all need managing to ensure the survival of their uniquely interesting characteristics.
Terry Whittaker/2020Vision
Protecting wildlife
We protect the incredible species that call Shropshire home, by understanding what they need and creating spaces where they can flourish.
Connecting people with nature
We engage with people of all ages through walks, talks, schools and projects to make wildlife part of our lives. Nature enriches us and helps boost our physical and mental wellbeing.
(c) Jon Hawkins - Surrey Hills Photography
Campaigning for nature's recovery
We have a long history of campaigning for positive change for nature and people, and working with local communities to save special places for wildlife and helping nature to recover.
The Wildlife Trusts
Shropshire Wildlife Trust is part of The Wildlife Trust movement. There are 46 Wildlife Trusts across the whole of the UK, the Isle of Man and Alderney. With 825,000 members The Wildlife Trusts are the largest UK voluntary organisation dedicated to conserving the whole range of the UK's habitats and species.
Shropshire Wildlife Trust is an independent, autonomous charity with its own Trustees. We are a member of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) which operates as an umbrella organisation for all 47 Wildlife Trusts and helps coordinate campaigns at a national level. RSWT is a separate charity in its own right - we are not governed by RSWT.
Mission Statements and Policies
For more information about our policies, please click on the links below.
Badgers and TB
The Wildlife Trusts are very conscious of the hardship that bovine TB (bTB) causes in the farming community and the need to find the right mechanisms to control the disease. However, we strongly believe that a badger cull is not the answer and we have been working to develop a humane and practical alternative; vaccination. We are one of twelve Wildlife Trusts who since 2011 have worked nationally to vaccinate around 1,000 badgers in partnership with vets, farmers and landowners. We have previously worked with Shropshire Badger Group, who continue to run a vaccination programme. We would never permit badger culling to take place on our own nature reserves in Shropshire.
Fox hunting
The Hunting Act 2004 is the law which bans chasing wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales – meaning that fox hunting, deer hunting, hare hunting, hare coursing and mink hunting are all illegal.
Shropshire Wildlife Trust does not allow hunting of any form on its land or nature reserves, including trail hunting as the distinction is difficult to prove.
Every year, the Trust takes steps to remind trail hunt groups and landowners neighbouring our nature reserves about reserve boundaries, including the provision of maps and keeping reserve gates closed. However, we are unable to prevent anyone crossing our nature reserves if using a legal right of way.
We are very grateful to members of the public and hunt monitoring groups who advise us of illegal hunt activity that is clearly within our reserve land boundaries. The Trust is a conservation charity and therefore only the Police can investigate and take enforcement action if they are provided with timely and sufficient evidence.
Our request to the public is to directly contact the local Police as soon as possible, with evidence, if they become aware of, or witness to, any illegal hunt activity in Shropshire; but to refrain from publicly posting this on social media as it greatly hinders the action the Police can take.
We take all reports of trespass and/or illegal activity on our nature reserves very seriously. When incidents are reported to us, we report these to the Police and are committed to working with them to ensure a thorough investigation.
We are aware that packs of hunting hounds and horses are unpredictable and pose dangers to individuals, children and pets whilst out in the countryside and would like to reiterate our 'no hunting policy' also shows that public safety on our nature reserves is of paramount importance.
Please visit www.westmercia.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rc/rural-crime/rural-crime-prevention for further information on rural crime and how to contact them.
Witnesses must acknowledge that any false information provided to the police, including misinterpreted reserve boundaries they are not familiar with, will dismiss an investigation.
Beavers
We want to see more wildlife-rich wetlands in the landscape, and land and watercourses managed in a way that slows the flow of water towards the sea. Beavers are an integral part of this and the Trust is actively pursuing the possibility for the reintroduction of beavers to Shropshire on secure sites. Such wetlands provide excellent habitat for wildlife and can be a real positive for nature tourism.
In the UK, where beavers have become re-naturalised outside of secure sites, there have been localised issues with landowners where private land has been flooded and crops damaged along the riverside. We believe that farmers should be compensated for this damage and they should be paid to farm with wildlife, providing ‘public goods’ or public money. These wetlands slow the flow of streams and rivers, and protect land downriver from flooding, reduce siltation and improve water quality and benefit each and every one of us
Housing and development
Shropshire is likely to have at least 35,000 new homes built by 2030 and the Trust actively engages in the planning process, examining strategic planning documents and endeavouring to safeguard key wildlife areas in both local authority areas. We understand that new homes are needed and believe that built in the right way and in the right place new developments can make a positive contribution to nature and the health and well being of people who live there.
The Trust believes that new developments should have no net loss of existing wildlife habitats, must include much more space for nature and that new buildings must incorporate wildlife-friendly features (bird and bat boxes) and minimise carbon emissions to reduce impacts on climate change. Residents should have the opportunity for daily enjoyment of nature, improving their health and wellbeing and that they should have access to safer transport routes, cycleway and footpaths set in high quality natural green spaces.
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