50 Years Wild

50th anniversary

50 years wild

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, your local wildlife charity, has been looking after Staffordshire's wildlife and wild places for nearly 50 years. In 2019 we celebrated ourĀ 50th Anniversary byĀ runningĀ lots of exciting wildlife events for all ages to get involved with, such as a colour run, youthĀ debate, celebrityĀ speakers' night, filmingĀ of a 50th documentary, openingĀ of our new-look Wolseley Centre, the launch of a new charity shopĀ plus much more! WeĀ celebratedĀ the milestone of ourĀ birthday withĀ a big birthday Wildchild Festival bash on 7th August 2019 where 2,000 attendees joined us.Ā 

Read below on our history and also summary of our 50th anniversary event programmeĀ 

Watch this page for regular updatesĀ 

Our story

On the 5th August 1969, the Staffordshire Nature Conservation Trust was set-up as a new Company (No 959609) and a Registered Charity (No 259559), later to become Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.Ā This small band of people that launched the Trust, were directed by naturalist, author and broadcaster Phil Drabble (of 'One Man And His Dog' fame), who lived in Abbots Bromley and was often referred to as 'a militant' naturalist. Before this,Ā the groupĀ had been a part of the West Midlands Trust for Nature Conservation founded in 1956, which included the counties of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.Ā 

In 1970, the Trust bought its first nature reserve, Loynton Moss and now owns 27 sites, ranging from ancient woodland to wildflower meadows, with further locations to be addedĀ during our anniversary year!Ā  A management committee was set up alongside the ownership of the reserve, withĀ one of the trustees, bird expert Frank Gribble acting as leader of the group, who was awarded anĀ MBE in 1996 for services to nature conservation. Today, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is a powerful voice for wildlife and people. The Trust is now one of the largest landholders in the countyĀ withĀ a membership in excess ofĀ 15,000 people of all ages, as well as a strong Conservation Team force and a diverse People Engagement Programme.Ā 

The Trust spent the first 2 decadesĀ of its life consolidating its position andĀ now works with and gives information and advice to government organisations, local authorities, planners, developers, and communities of all kinds even recently appearing inĀ parliament!

The Trust's 1st Registered Office was on the southern edge of Stoke-on-Trent, at the home of Treasurer Richard Warren, the County Recorder for butterflies and moths. FollowingĀ numerous office relocations,Ā the Trust HQ is now sitedĀ at The Wolseley Centre, which has been the Trust's home since 2001, incorporating a bustlingĀ Visitor Centre. StaffordshireĀ Wildlife Trust runĀ another Visitor Centre at Westport Lake and in trueĀ pioneering spirit, were the first Wildlife Trust to launch a charity shop - and now have three in total!Ā Ā 
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Old magazines

A selection of some of our magazines / newsletters over the years

Wolseley Kingfisher

Keep us protecting Staffordshire's wildlife for the next 50 years

Become a member

A year of celebrations

To celebrate turningĀ 50, we ranĀ a specialĀ wildĀ event programme throughout our anniversary year.Ā  You can see a summary our 50th events programme below! Some of the events were so popular such as our Wildchild Festival, youth summit and Big Weekend WildlifeĀ Watch survey that we plan to make them annual events going forward.Ā 

Colour run event

Colour Run

New for 2019! People were invitedĀ to run for wildlife and go '50 Shades of Green' for Staffordshire Wildlife Trust's Colour Run event onĀ SundayĀ 23rd June @ Chasewater Country Park.Ā  The fun startedĀ @ 10AM.Ā Ā 

Those who signed up gotĀ a FREE t-shirt (S, M, L or XL only - thanks to Croft Architecture for the sponsoring these) and sunglasses.Ā 

Attendees ran, walked or joged 5k for wildlife and stuck around at the end for our Colour Run Party where everyone gotĀ their own sachet of paint to throw!Ā  Live music featured from the fantastic 'Non-Runners' and fitness instructor Jackie Cassidy did a great job of getting everyone race ready with her warm-up routine.Ā 

This was a fun event that aimed toĀ raise money for your local wildlife and wild places in a stunning location!Ā  We hope to run a similar event next year

Find out more
Youth Debate

Youth Summit

We are excited to announce that we hostedĀ ourĀ Youth Debate event, 'YESS 19' (Youth Environment Summit Staffordshire),Ā  with an environmental takeover at Civic Buildings in Stafford in the Council Chambers. Schools and individualsĀ across the countyĀ participated on the 11th April toĀ discuss numerous environmental issues along with local businesses that will effect the future of Staffordshire and beyondĀ such as:Ā plastics, re-wilding, green spaces vs people plus more.Ā  The event was live-streamed on our website for other schools and members of the public to tune in and watch.Ā Workshops were run with schools in the afternoon to discuss the debate topics further.Ā  Feedback from the attendees will help shape the Trusts business strategy for the next few years.

Watch the debate
Wild birthday parties

WildChild Festival

We had a wonderful dayĀ celebratingĀ our 50th anniversary at ourĀ big, WildChild Festival birthday bash on 7th August 2019 at our Wolseley Centre HQ. Around 2,000 of you joined us in what I am sure we'll all agree was a birthday party to remember!

There wasĀ lots of family wildlife activitiesĀ on the day for people to get stuck into and experience their wild side;Ā fun wildlife games, entertainment from the Fabulariam theatre group,Ā tales fromĀ the traveling storyteller, the Oakmobile, yoga sessions, natural craft, obstacle courses, mud slide plusĀ lots more!

You can view a selection of images from the day hereĀ https://www.wildchildfestival.com/

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Find out about it
Wildlife Road Trip speakers night

'Wildlife Road Trip' Speakers Night

On the evening of Friday 20th September on #GlobalClimateStrikeDay, we heldĀ a wildlife talk, 'Wildlife Road Trip'Ā andĀ invitedĀ the public to come and listen. Wildlife TV presenters Iolo Williams and Martin Hughes-Games, known for their conservation and wildlife work presented the show - you may recognise them from shows such as BBC Springwatch!Ā The wildlife TV presentersĀ teamed up for an amusingĀ and informative show packed with facts and fun for the whole family. Extremely wild about wildlife, these two brilliant and entertaining enthusiasts tookĀ the audience on a funny and fascinating journey. The audienceĀ wereĀ able to learn about wildlife, the presenters work history and also getĀ a sneak peak insight as to whatĀ wildlife TV presenting is like on shows such as Springwatch and learnt some of the interesting things it entails.Ā Ā The 'Wildlife Road Trip' themed event was held at the Lichfield Garrick. The Trust also had a Wilder Future stand at the event where people could find out how to get involved with the Trust's latest campaign that promotes saving wildlife and wild places that are under threat. Find out more about the campaign here

Read about it
Kingfisher Artwork

Art Exhibition

In celebration of their 50th anniversary, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust heldĀ an Art Exhibition 'Wild About Staffordshire'Ā @ Museum of Cannock Chase. The exhibition celebratedĀ theĀ wildlife and wild places of Staffordshire with a range of artwork on display from photography to sculpture and paintings.Ā The exhibition ranĀ from Mon 28th October - 17th December.Ā  Emma Sheldon won the Peopleā€™s Choice for her ā€˜Inquisitive Kitā€™ piece and Gillian Elliot won the Chairmanā€™s Choice for the piece ā€˜The Clearingā€™.Ā 

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Find out more
Explore The Wolseley Centre

New-look Wolseley Visitor Centre

The Wolseley Centre, the Trustā€™s home since 2003, hasĀ undergoneĀ a redevelopment, which has seen the creation of a new cafĆ© with stunning views over SwanĀ Lake to enrich the visitor experience, a revised gift shop, a new car park offering more spaces, improved interpretation and introducing new features across the well-visited site. The new-look centre was officially opened on 12th June by Staffordshire DignitariesĀ (find out more here). Another key part of the exciting upgrade of the facilities includes the construction of a purpose-built environmental education facility. The new building will feature a cutting-edge environmental design that delivers the perfect space for learning about nature in harmony with the natural landscape in which it will be located. This is set to be completed later on in the Trusts anniversary year.Ā 

Find out more
Bird watching

Credit:Ā Ben Hall - 2020VISIONĀ 

Big Weekend Wildlife Watch

30 Days Wild is The Wildlife Trust'sĀ UK month-long nature campaign where people are encouraged to do one random 'act of wildness' for each day in June.Ā This could be as simple as going for a walk or doing some bird watching! Mid June in 2019, Staffordshire Wildlife TrustĀ heldĀ theirĀ Big Wild Weekend as part of the campaign, where everyone is encouraged to do something wild and get outdoors. On the Big Wild Weekend, 15th-16th June, the TrustĀ launched theirĀ Big Weekend Wildlife Watch survey working with Staffordshire Ecological Record. 300 people across the county signed up to take part and were asked to head outdoors to their local green space (park, garden or nature reserve) and spot 30 key speciesĀ and toĀ then send their results in to the Trust.Ā  By recording species people were helping the Trust analyse the state of Staffordshire's wildlife.Ā As part of the campaign, there wasĀ a FREE spotting booklet with facts about wildlife.Ā 

Read all about it
GetWild Badge

Credit:Ā Elaine Ingram

Get Wild Badge

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is celebrating its 50th Year in 2019 and we would love individuals, families, schools and groups to all get involved in celebrating with us by doing 50 wild activities. The Get Wild badge is a great way to earn an award while exploring nature and taking part in lots of fun activities.Ā Go on a bug hunt, climb a tree, make a bird feeder, discover animal tracks and trails, make leaf bunting orĀ plant wildflowers!

There are 100 wild activities from the list to choose from and you need to complete 50 of them to earn your Get Wild. Most of the activities can be done almost anywhere outdoors and many of them you can also complete when attending our family events and activities we run throughout the year! Look out for the Get Wild badge logo next to events on our what's on pages to see which activities qualify!

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