Back in March last year, the Government announced that Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust was set to receive £875,602 funding support to lead an ambitious partnership to enhance, restore and create vital wildlife habitats in the Trent Valley.  

The Trust’s Thriving in a Wilder Trent project was set up to enhance existing habitats and create new areas of habitats to benefit a range of species from common terns to bitterns and otters across the Trent Valley. It is one of only twenty across England to be funded through the Species Survival Fund – a partnership with Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and The National Heritage Lottery Fund. Locally it will deliver work with farmers and landowners covering a 90 km stretch of the River Trent from Willington in Derbyshire to West Burton farmed land within 2.5km of the Trent and 28 kilometres of canal. 

Existing priority floodplain habitats that will benefit from enhanced management include reedbed, wet woodland and hedgerows and partners will also support landowners to bring new land into positive management to enhance connectivity.  

Project partners include Canal & River Trust; Derbyshire Wildlife Trust; Gedling Conservation Trust, Nottingham City Council; RSPB; Severn Trent Water and Trent Rivers Trust. 

This project is funded by the Government's Species Survival Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm's-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency. 

Speaking last year following the announcement that Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s Thriving in a Wilder Trent project had been selected, Chief Executive Paul Wilkinson said: 

“We are absolutely delighted that our Thriving in a Wilder Trent project has been selected as part of the hugely competitive Species Survival Fund programme. Thanks to Defra’s support via The National Heritage Lottery Fund, we are now able to work with partners and other landowners across the Trent landscape to increase priority habitats and improve connectivity to support nature’s recovery on a huge scale. The programme will deliver much needed investment in threatened habitats such as reedbed and hedgerows – helping species including bittern, otter, skylark and other farmland birds – as well as providing opportunities for communities to act for nature and climate. The success of our bid underlines the scale of our ambition and our ability to collaborate with others for the benefit of nature and people.”