Make a real difference
Wherever you live in the UK, your local Wildlife Trust is working to protect the wildlife and wild places that you love.
You can include a gift in your Will to support this work - a gift dedicated to saving endangered wildlife and giving future generations the opportunity to enjoy a healthy, wildlife-rich natural world.
A gift of just 1% of your estate can achieve amazing things for wildlife.
Alternatively, search for your local Wildlife Trust
Already included a gift for wildlife in your Will?
If a gift for a Wildlife Trust is already in your Will, and you're happy to let us know about it, we'd love to hear from you.
There's no obligation to tell a charity that you've included a gift in your Will to them. But by letting us know, it helps us to better plan our future work for wildlife, and let you know how your gift will make a world of difference for nature.
“Anyone who cares about wildlife has a marvellous opportunity to do something quite unique, by remembering their local Wildlife Trust in their will.
This generous act is one of the most important things you can do to make sure the species and habitats we love will be there for future generations to enjoy.”
- Sir David Attenborough
Where the need is greatest
Any gift you choose to include in your Will should to go towards causes close to your heart.
A gift to your local Wildlife Trust is a gift for the nature on your doorstep, so you know that wildlife near you will benefit from your generosity.
Alternatively, you can include a gift in your Will to The Wildlife Trusts on a national level. These gifts can support a wide variety of different work across the UK, from restoring wildflower meadows to educating future generations about the importance of the natural world.
Please use the webform above if you'd like to hear from The Wildlife Trusts about how a gift in your Will can help your local wildlife.
How gifts can help...
Gift in Wills have helped us protect wild places, provide a lifeline to species under threat, and give local people opportunities to experience wildlife in their daily lives. Click on the stories below to find out more.
Bringing back Devon's beavers
Thanks to legacies given to The Wildlife Trusts, wild beavers are successfully breeding in the English landscape after an absence of 400 years. Beavers are a great addition to our landscape because they are brilliant at creating wetland habitats which can prevent flooding further downstream. In 2016, Devon Wildlife Trust were delighted to announce the birth of the first wild baby beavers in England for centuries. Tom Buckley captured the fabulous footage of the beaver and her kits. He said:
“When I saw these new born baby beavers I was totally overwhelmed and thought it must be a miracle. My first sighting of this year’s new born kits was when I saw their mother swimming with one of them in her mouth to an area nearby where their father was waiting to greet them”.
A gift to protect local wildlife
Philip has included a gift to Cheshire Wildlife Trust in his Will so that cherished local wildlife is protected for the future. Phillip said
''I decided to leave a gift to Cheshire Wildife Trust in my Will because wildlife needs all the help it can get and the Trust is the 'go to' organisation for wildlife protection in this area.''
Last year, over 7% of Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s income came directly from people like Philip who have chosen to include a gift in their Will for wildlife. These gifts are used in lots of different areas of work, including looking after more than 40 nature reserves, protecting the region’s most endangered habitats and species, campaigning for greater protection of local wildlife, inspiring the next generation of wildlife lovers.
Thank you, Philip.
Creating a haven for wildlife
In 1985 Anne and Lionel decided they wanted to do something extra special to help wildlife. They bought a four acre field near to their home in Staffordshire and have been working ever since to create rich and diverse habitats to help wildlife thrive. They added a further two acre piece of land in 1990. Thanks to their hard work, the land is now a haven for species such as the protected great crested newts, toads, frogs, badgers, weasels and stoats. Anne and Lionel have now been members of Staffordshire Wildlife Trust for 30 years. Recently, they decided to leave their land to the Trust as a gift in their wills, as well as money to assist with further care for the fields. They said
“By purchasing the land, we made it our aim to provide an oasis for wildlife to enjoy and then hopefully thrive…being members of the Trust has given us a lot of pleasure over the years. We have seen the charity grow from its early roots and when we were writing our Wills and deciding who to leave the land to, we felt the Trust would be the right choice.”
Thank you, Anne & Lionel
Discovering and preserving beautiful wildflowers
As an amateur botanist with a special interest in wild flower conservation, Tessa realised the importance of Waitby Greenriggs, Cumbria, for rare flowers such as orchids and Grass-of-Parnassus. Thanks to Tessa’s discovery, the area is now a nature reserve and thanks to a gift in her will to Cumbria Wildlife Trust, she will continue to support wild flower conservation for years to come. Tessa’s kind gift is helping to create a new wild flower meadow at Eyecott Hill Nature Reserve, Cumbria, so every year more and more people will see her passion and generosity in full bloom.
Thank you, Tessa
Our promise to you
- We recognise your loved ones come first in your Will.
- We will treat you fairly and we won’t intrude on your privacy.
- We will never ask you the size or type of your legacy, because every gift makes a difference.
- We understand that circumstances change and there may be a time where you need to take the Wildlife Trusts out of your Will.
- We promise to use your gift wisely, in line with your wishes.
Details you might need
To include a gift in your Will to The Wildlife Trusts on a national level, you'll need this information:
Full name: The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts
Registered Charity No: 207238
Our address: The Kiln, Waterside, Mather Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1WT
Telephone: 01636 677 711
We are part of Remember A Charity, a consortium of over 200 charities all working together to raise awareness of the importance of having a Will and encouraging more people to consider leaving a gift in their Will to charity.
You can visit the Remember A Charity website to find local solicitors, who will be able to advise you on leaving gifts to charities when making a Will.