Devon Wildlife Trust

The Devon Wildlife Trust is a member of The Wildlife Trusts partnership covering the county of Devon, England. It is a registered charity, established in 1962 as the Devon Naturalists Trust, and its aim is to safeguard the future of the county's urban, rural and marine wildlife and its environment.

Devon Wildlife Trust
Cricklepit Mill
PredecessorDevon Naturalists Trust
Region
Devon

The trust

Twenty percent of Devon is unspoilt wildlife habitat, and the county contains all or part of two national parks (Dartmoor and Exmoor), one UNESCO biosphere reserve (North Devon Biosphere Reserve), five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Blackdown Hills, East Devon, North Devon Coast, South Devon and the Tamar Valley) and part of the Jurassic Coast, the only natural World Heritage Site in England.[1] Devon Wildlife Trust campaigns on a number of regional and national wildlife issues, and also looks after some 40 nature reserves including Sites of Special Scientific Interest such as Bystock, Dawlish Warren, Bovey Heath, Chudleigh Knighton Heath, and Dunsford.[2]

The trust has over 37,000 members which help fund its work and it is aided by around 800 registered volunteers which help with running 12 local groups and habitat management work on the charity's nature reserves. There are also some 60 full-time staff working for the Trust.[3]

The Trust's headquarters and visitor centre is located at the historic Cricklepit Mill in Exeter. The building features a working 19th-century water-powered flour mill and displays information about the Trust's reserves and activities. Outside is a wildlife garden, an oasis of calm in the middle of the city. The mill goes into action once a month. Other visitor centres are situated at Wembury Marine Centre on the coast in Wembury and Seaton Jurassic at Seaton. The trust also manages Woodah Farm, near Doddiscombsleigh, which is situated in a wildlife reserve and provides groups with research facilities.[4]

Nature reserves

Devon Wildlife Trust manages the following nature reserves:[2]

  • Andrew's Wood
  • Ash Moor
  • Ashculm Turbary
  • Blackadon
  • Bovey Heathfield
  • Bystock Pools
  • Chudleigh Knighton Heath
  • Dart Valley
  • Dunsdon
  • Dunsford
  • Exe Reed Beds
  • Halsdon
  • Halwill Junction
  • Hawkwood
  • Higher Kiln Quarry
  • Inner Warren
  • Lady's Wood
  • Lickham Common
  • Little Bradley Ponds
  • Lower East Lounston
  • Marsland
  • Mambury Moor
  • Meeth Quarry
  • Meshaw Moor
  • Mill Bottom
  • Old Sludge Beds, Exe Estuary
  • Rackenford and Knowstone Moor
  • Ruggadon Middlepark
  • Scanniclift Copse
  • Sourton Quarry
  • Stapleton Mire
  • Stowford Moor
  • Swanpool Marsh
  • The Rough
  • Uppacott Wood
  • Vealand Farm
  • Veilstone Moore
  • Venn Ottery
  • Volehouse Moor
  • Warleigh Point
  • Wolborough Fen

Campaigns

Devon Wildlife Trust actively promotes and runs a number of campaigns. Devon is the only English county with two coastlines, and the Devon Wildlife Trust is joining with other wildlife trusts to campaign for better protection of marine life.[5]

The Trust are responsible for watching over the UK's only breeding population of wild beavers. Present since at least 2008 in the River Otter, evidence of kits was found in 2014 and there are believed to be eight families currently living on the river.[6]

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References
  1. "Devon Wildlife Trust: Our purpose". Devon Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  2. "Find a nature reserve". Devon Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  3. "Volunteering for wildlife". Devon Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  4. "Our visitor centres". Devon Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  5. "Help us protect our seas". Devon Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  6. Smith, Colleen (2019-10-05). "34 secret places in Devon that remain hidden in plain sight". devonlive. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
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