the wiltshire wildlife trust a sustainable future for wildlife and people

The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust

A sustainable future for wildlife and people

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust

• established in 1962

• 18,500 members

• over 1500 volunteers

• 65 members of staff

Purpose of the Trust not same as a natural history society but

concerned “with seeing that there would be some nature left in, say, 25 years time”.

Oct 1962. Inaugural meeting

Climate change

is a huge threat to wildlife and people

The Trust’s response to climate change is to support •Adaptation

•Mitigation

Adapting to inevitable climate change by the careful management of nature reserves, providing advice and support to landowners and farmers to create ‘Living Landscapes’

Mitigation - supporting the transition of society to live more sustainably – education & awareness raising, promoting ‘eco-therapy’, less waste, energy efficiency and local generation of renewable energy

“The Trusts can be an inspiration to people, helping them to understand

the link between climate change and the impacts on wildlife and the

need to reduce – urgently – the amount of CO2 released into the

atmosphere”

HRH Prince Charles14th May 2007

Better insulated homes

Wiltshire Wildlife Community Energy –

a community benefit society

Chelworth1MW solar installation at, near Cricklade

.– Cost £1.3m – money raised by share issue– Will generate c.7% return on investment (plus EIS tax relief)– WWT gets a rent £5,000 and 20% share of surplus– Will generate c.£500,000 Community Fund over 20 years

1MW of electricity produced –

enough for 225 homes

Space between panels will be sown with wildflowers and grazed by sheep

Panels arranged to fit into the site boundaries