Launched in November the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust ‘Defend Nature’ appeal has so far raised £65,000 towards a £100,000 goal. 

Central to the appeal is ‘Wild Whittington’, 60 acres of arable farmland in Chesterfield, that will be returned to nature. The site stretches between St Bartholomew’s woods to the south and Grasscroft ancient woodlands to the north. These woods join to Unstone and then down into the valley of the River Drone.        

Using rewilding, the plan is to create a varied woodland habitat on the land to bolster a vital habitat corridor between the woodlands and support nature’s recovery in Chesterfield and the surrounding areas. By creating more space for nature and improving habitat connectivity, the site will support a range of bird and bat species, as well as mammals such as foxes, badgers and hedgehogs.  

This is not the only example of rewilding that the fund will boost with projects to support nature’s recovery in the Wild Peak and the UKs largest urban rewilding project already underway. 

Matt Buckler, Director of Natural Solutions at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust said: “Here in Derbyshire, we want to take action to restore nature now. Quite simply, turning land over to rewilding projects is one of the most effective ways to get resilient nature back in people’s lives.   

“There has been fantastic local support from people who are keen that we buy the site at Old Whittington, and there are more sites we are working on that we hope to share very soon. Thanks to our rewilding programmes, more and more landowners are also joining schemes to pledge land across Derbyshire to restore nature.   

“We’re overjoyed that this opportunity, and more, have come up to create more space for nature, none of which would be possible without the generosity of our supporters.”   

Could you help Derbyshire Wildlife Trust reach its target to help nature recover and make more space for nature? Donations to support rewilding at Wild Whittington, and other sites across Chesterfield and Derbyshire, can be made online.    

Donate now

You can also find out how to pledge your land, enquire about joining Derbyshire’s rewilding community or publicly accessible rewilding land near you on our website.