Within days of the announcement that the Rothbury Estate appeal had reached the £20m milestone, the largest and most ambitious single fundraising appeal in the history of The Wildlife Trusts has reached new heights.

 A number of philanthropists have come forward to offer further support and pledges totalling £5.5m, joining donations from around the world to help fund the purchase of the historic Rothbury Estate for nature and the nation.

 Providing the biggest surge in donations towards the two-year fundraising campaign to date, the ambitious campaign is now within ‘touching distance’ of the £30m total needed to purchase the estate in its entirety. The news comes as the autumn fundraising deadline fast approaches.

 The Wildlife Trusts and Northumberland Wildlife Trust have now raised over £26m, including pledges, of the £30m needed.

 Throughout the campaign, ongoing local support and fundraising efforts have been helping to make The Wildlife Trusts’ vision for the Rothbury Estate a reality. 

Many different fundraising activities have been taking place; from wreath-making workshops and selling Christmas trees to creating hand-felted mushrooms and bunnies to be sold from a store on Rothbury high street. 

Donations have also been received from all around the world, including from Finland, Bermuda, the United States of America and the Philippines.

 Mike Pratt, CEO of Northumberland Wildlife Trust says:

“It has been both heartening and humbling to see how many people have been inspired by this opportunity and are choosing to support our success at Rothbury. It is clear that stories of hope and positive action are resonating with people far beyond The Rothbury Estate’s boundaries.

  “Having marked the incredible £20m milestone moment only last week, it has been the most extraordinary few days for the appeal and we’re really excited to now be within touching distance of the £30m needed to purchase the entire estate. This has been a remarkable collective effort and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone that has supported so far – now let’s make it happen, let’s get this over the line.”

 A proportion of the funding received has been given specifically to support an extension of a match fund appeal. Set up to run throughout August with a target of £100,000, the match fund proved highly successful and achieved its total within a week. In recognition of this huge swell of support, an incredible £500,000 donation will allow The Wildlife Trusts to extend the match fund appeal through to the end of September, with the potential now to raise £1.2m towards the campaign total.

 If you would like to donate through the match fund appeal and see your donation doubled, please visit: Rothbury Estate Match Appeal August 2026 | The Wildlife Trusts

 Where there’s opportunity, there’s hope

Future plans for The Rothbury Estate are big and bold - just as they need to be to respond to the challenges we all face from climate change and nature loss. 

At 9,500 acres, this heart-shaped landscape will, over time, restore nature in abundance through habitat conservation and restoration. It will improve the land’s resilience to hot and dry summers by re-wetting the landscape, creating pools and ponds, restoring peat bogs, and creating healthier river corridors to help hold water back both in periods of drought and significant rainfall. 

With more trees, more scrubland, more shade for livestock, and a sustainable farming plan that supports great food production with nature-friendly agricultural practices, the opportunities to make real and positive impacts are huge. 

The vision of working side by side with the local community to shape this landscape for the benefit of nature and people is coming close to being a reality.