Avon Wildlife Trust

Who we are

Avon Wildlife Trust is the largest local charity working to protect wildlife and inspire people in the West of England. We work across the old county of Avon and cover the four local authority areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, and North Somerset.

We care for 30 nature reserves - from ancient bluebell woods to Iron Age forts, nationally important wetlands which are a haven for rare, wading birds, and wildflower meadows. Our educational and community programmes help people of all ages connect with and benefit from the natural world around them - and take action themselves to help nature's recovery.

We work with landowners in the countryside across our region to reverse the decline in wildlife by creating connected living landscapes.

We are part of a wider network of 46 Wildlife Trusts across the UK and work with many partners to protect our natural environment and support an abundance of wildlife in towns, cities and countryside.

Our culture and values

Our aims:

Nature's recovery

• we need to make more space for nature to give our struggling wildlife the chance to reciver. We would like to see 30% of youy land and sea managed for nature by 2023. We'll create, connect and restore a diverse range of abundantly wild places and form thriving nature recovery networks across the region.

Empowering People

• Inspiring and resourcing people to take action for wildlife. The science shows that if just one person in every four takes action for wildlife, this can be enough to change the minds and behaviour of the majority, which will help to put nature in recovery. 

Nature-based solutions

• We want to restore and create good quality habitat to draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reduce local flooding and pollution while promoting an abundance of biodiversity across our region. Our vision is to see 1000 hectares of habitat across Avon restored, providing nature-based solutions to the climate crisis. 

Our values:

• Passion – We behave with belief and passion for the cause, recognising the urgency required to tackle the ecological and climate emergencies.
   
• Inspiration – We recognise our role in enabling, empowering, and inspiring all people to take action for nature
   
• Innovation – We know that to achieve change we must use our initiative, push boundaries, and challenge ourselves to improve our knowledge and understanding

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the joy of wildlife in their daily lives, that’s why we’re committed to putting equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our movement.  

We’re Wild About Inclusion! To us, this means inspiring, empowering and engaging people from all backgrounds, cultures, identities and abilities, to change the natural world for the better and take action to help wildlife in their daily lives.   

We know that not everyone has equal access to nature. Therefore, it’s important for us to better understand and address inequalities experienced by many communities in accessing nature, improve connection and inclusivity for all and ensure everyone is able to benefit from wildlife. 

We also recognise that the conservation sector is one of the least diverse professions in the UK.  We are committed to ensuring we reflect and represent all parts of society by improving access to jobs and training opportunities for groups currently under represented in our sector. 

Our people are very important to us, so we’re wild about cultivating inclusive work spaces that are free from discrimination, where differences are valued, everyone can be themselves and flourish, just like nature!