Our mission at Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is a simple one – to value nature. Our ambition is to preserve, recreate and reconnect Gloucestershire’s wild places.
We want everyone in Gloucestershire to value, enjoy and share wildlife in the county and believe strongly that nature matters, not only in its own right, but for the huge benefits it brings to the people of Gloucestershire.
Five percent of Gloucestershire households are members of GWT, one of the highest membership penetration rates of all The Wildlife Trusts in the United Kingdom, and we have over 500 active volunteers who help us conserve wildlife from practical work on one of our 46 nature reserves to helping with admin in the office.
Wild green spaces
Gloucestershire's wildlife has been looked after by dedicated and passionate conservationists since 1961 when Gloucestershire Trust for Conservation (subsequently Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust - GWT) was founded.Â
Badgeworth was the first nature reserve to be looked after by the newly-formed Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in 1962, the reserve is home to the rare 'Badgeworth buttercup'.Â
Lower Woods is GWT's largest nature reserve, with 282 hectares. The reserve is one of the largest ancient woodlands in the south-west, and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Our 10 Nature Recovery Zones (NRZs) are based around and extend clusters of GWT nature reserves. Within NRZs we are working closely with our neighbouring landowners and farmers beyond the boundaries of nature reserves to create much larger wildlife-friendly areas that importantly connect with each other, effectively creating ‘super reserves’.