The Devon Wildlife Trust is a member of The Wildlife Trusts partnership covering the county of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. 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.

The trust

Twenty percent of Devon is unspoilt wildlife habitat, and the county contains all or part of two

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

s (

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

and

Exmoor Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath ...

), one

UNESCO biosphere reserve Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments. MAB's work enga ...

( North Devon Biosphere Reserve), five

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

(

Blackdown Hills The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1991. The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand wi ...

East Devon East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council has been based in Honiton since February 2019, and the largest town is Exmouth (with a population of 34,432 at the time of the 2011 census). The district was formed ...

, North Devon Coast,

South Devon South Devon is the southern part of Devon, England. Because Devon has its major population centres on its two coasts, the county is divided informally into North Devon and South Devon.For exampleNorth DevonanSouth Devonnews sites. In a narrower se ...

and the Tamar Valley) and part of the

Jurassic Coast The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-Decembe ...

, the only natural

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in England. Devon Wildlife Trust campaigns on a number of regional and national wildlife issues, and also looks after some 40

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

s including

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

such as Bystock,

Dawlish Warren Dawlish Warren is a seaside resort near the town of Dawlish in Teignbridge on the south coast of Devon in England. Dawlish Warren consists almost entirely of holiday accommodation and facilities for holiday-makers especially caravan sites. Lo ...

, Bovey Heath, Chudleigh Knighton Heath, and

Dunsford Dunsford is a village in Devon, England, just inside the Dartmoor National Park. The place-name 'Dunsford' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as ''Dunesforda'', meaning 'Dunn's ford'. The village has a number o ...

. 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. The Trust's headquarters and visitor centre is located at the historic Cricklepit Mill in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. 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 {{coord, 50.318, -4.078, display=title, region:GB_scale:5000 Wembury Marine Centre is situated in the small village of Wembury, near Plymouth. Run by Devon Wildlife Trust, it holds rockpool rambles throughout the summer months, educating some 20,0 ...

on the coast in

Wembury Wembury is a village on the south coast of Devon, England, very close to Plymouth Sound. Wembury is located south of Plymouth. Wembury is also the name of the peninsula in which the village is situated. The village lies in the administrative di ...

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.

Nature reserves

Devon Wildlife Trust manages the following nature reserves: * Andrew's Wood * Ash Moor * Ashculm Turbary * Barley Valley Park * Bellever Moor and Meadows * Blackadon * Bovey Heathfield * Bystock Pools * Chudleigh Knighton Heath * Clayhidon Turbary * Dart Valley * Dawlish Inner Warren * Dunsdon *

* Duryard and Belvidere Valley Park * Emsworthy Mire * Exe Reed Beds * Exeter Valley Parks * Halsdon * Halwill Junction * Hawkwood * Higher Kiln Quarry * Horsey Island * Ideford Common * Inner Warren *

Lady's Wood Lady's Wood is a nature reserve west of Upwood in Cambridgeshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN) is a r ...

* Lickham Common * Little Bradley Ponds * Lower East Lounston * Ludwell Valley Park * Marsland * Mambury Moor *

Meeth Meeth is a small village roughly north-northwest of Okehampton and west-northwest of Exeter. It lies to the west of the River Torridge. In the past, ball clay mines were a major source of employment in the village, lying just to the west, howev ...

Quarry * Meresfelle * Meshaw Moor * Mill Bottom * Mincinglake Valley Park * New England Wood * Old Sludge Beds, Exe Estuary * Rackenford and Knowstone Moors * Riverside_Valley_Park *_Ruggadon_Middlepark *_Scanniclift_Copse.html" ;"title="Ruggadon_Middlepark.html" ;"title="Riverside Valley Park * Ruggadon Middlepark">Riverside Valley Park * Ruggadon Middlepark * Scanniclift Copse">Ruggadon_Middlepark.html" ;"title="Riverside Valley Park * Ruggadon Middlepark">Riverside Valley Park * Ruggadon Middlepark * Scanniclift Copse * Sourton Quarry * South Efford Marsh * Stapleton Mire * Stowford Moor * Swanpool Marsh * Teigngrace Meadow * The Rough * Uppacott Wood * Vealand Farm * Veilstone Moore * Venn Ottery * Volehouse Moor * Warleigh Point * Whitycombe Valley Park * Wolborough Fen * Woodah Farm Rural Skills Centre

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. The Trust are responsible for watching over the UK's only breeding population of wild

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

s. 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.

References

External links

*
Wembury Marine Centre website

Seaton Jurassic Visitor Centre website
{{Authority control Environment of Devon Organisations based in Devon Wildlife Trusts of England 1962 establishments in England Organizations established in 1962