Surrey Wildlife Trust manages almost 8000 hectares of land in Surrey (5% of the county) with wildlife in mind and for the enjoyment of local people.
We speak up for wildlife by advising decision makers and ensuring wildlife has a voice and share our knowledge of wildlife at every opportunity, through our education services to schools, adult learning courses and events.
Our hands-on approach of caring for nature reserves and advising other landowners on managing land for nature has transformed the fortunes of some of Surrey’s most threatened species.
We work with schools, communities and volunteers across Surrey to inform and involve people in nature. Over 15,000 children and young people now benefit annually from a wide variety of outdoor learning courses and activities. Each year our enthusiastic volunteers contribute over 8,000 ‘people days’ to our work.
Surrey has some of the UK’s most beautiful countryside. But our wildlife is in trouble.
30% of nature in Surrey is either extinct or under threat as a result of pressures on habitat through development, pollution, poor land management and neglect.
Our 80 carefully managed nature reserves provide some of Surrey’s most important homes for wildlife and cover some 5% of the county. However, protected reserves alone are not enough if nature is to thrive going forward.
Nature reserves need to be connected by green corridors so wildlife populations can survive and thrive - we call this a 'Living Landscape'.
Between 2018 and 2023 our focus includes some of Surrey's iconic landscapes, featuring our most important habitats, like heathland, wetland and chalk grassland.
Working with landowners, schools, local communities, councils, volunteers, and other environmental groups, we are restoring key habitats to create stepping stones between our reserves, as well as other vital nature sites, so wildlife can flourish across the county.
Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) is the only organisation concerned solely with the conservation of all forms of wildlife in Surrey.
