© Tom Marshall
Celebrations all round
On 31st March 1971, Northumberland Wildlife Trust was created, which made 2011 our 40th anniversary year. It is an important time for us as the original trust, Northumberland and Durham Naturalists’ Trust, was set up in 1962, which makes 2012 our 50th anniversary! The vision continues to be the same, to protect our special wildlife and wild places for future generations. And, just to top it all, 2012 is the whole Wildlife Trusts movement centenary year, celebrating its formation in in 1912.
We have recorded a few of our major achievements in our history section, but we are proud to have grown from a handful of volunteers to over 12,500 members, 300 active volunteers and over 40 staff, caring for over 60 nature reserves.
Download our anniversary brochure
Looking forward to the next 40 years…
Our future plans include Living Landscapes, our way of promoting biodiversity to local communities, joining up fragmented landscapes and restoring and recreating new wildlife havens. We want to extend our schools and education programmes to inspire as many children as we can to care for wildlife. We would also like to build a visitor centre, run more events and involve more volunteers to create a groundswell of positive people acting for wildlife.
Join us and help us continue to grow!
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Members in 2012 receive a special Northumberland Wildlife Trust badge as an acknowledgement of the part they have played in supporting nature conservation in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland.
A lot has been achieved but there is always so much to do! Please ask your friends, family and colleagues to become members, donate or you might even consider leaving a gift in your will. Find out more in our how you can help section.
Our celebrations...
Supporters in 2011 enjoyed a variety of exciting events, and we continue to organise activities and opportunities for everybody to get involved with NWT and get closer to wildlife.
Tynan's Bank
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We kicked off with a small celebration with Founder, Tony Tynan, at our Hauxley nature reserve, where he unveiled a new sand martin bank on 1st April 2011.
The sand martin population is now just 10% of what it was 50 years .JPG "© NWT")
ago, but there is a nesting colony of 60 to 80 pairs of sand martins at Hauxley. With the dunes eroding, there was a need to provide an alternative nesting site on the reserves so work began on the construction of a nesting wall, rendered to look like a cliff face and topped with a turf roof.
'Tynan's Bank' was constructed by Alex Lister, Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s Druridge Bay Estates Officer and his team of volunteers, and was officially unveiled by Tony to celebrate the Trust’s 40th birthday and, with neat symmetry, Tony’s 80th birthday.
Tyne River Cruise 2011
The members’ cruise on the River Tyne with afternoon tea was fully booked but the popularity of the event will lead to further events like this. Participants enjoyed a wildlife commentary from NWT Head of Conservation Steve Lowe, and enjoyed a leisurely trip to the mouth of the Tyne and back along the Quayside.
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AGM
Members also joined us for our AGM on 10th September at the Hancock: Great North Museum when Dr Angus Lunn shared the history of the Trust and Mike Pratt, CEO, inspire everybody with future plans.
Chris Packham - Tyne Theatre
Our event with Chris Packham was a fantastic success, with over 800 people arriving to see his spectacular wildlife presentation, and hear his wild tales from around the world.
The event was at the Journal Tyne theatre, Newcastle, and encompassed the show, a book signing, a question and answer session, and the chance to browse a range of merchandise, from photographs to membership.