What Derbyshire Wildlife Trust does

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is a registered charity (charity number 222212) founded in 1962 and headquartered in Middleton, Matlock, that protects and restores wildlife and habitats across Derbyshire, England. It is one of 46 autonomous trusts federated under The Wildlife Trusts national brand, which carries Sir David Attenborough's endorsement. The trust manages a portfolio of nature reserves — including Willington Wetlands (113 acres), Lea Wood, Eldon Hill, Allestree Park, the recently secured Middleton Moor (135 acres, forming part of a 1,000-acre connected network), and Cowdale (36 hectares, managed in partnership with Nestlé Waters) — and runs flagship species reintroduction programmes for white stork, pine marten, and (under feasibility) Eurasian elk.

The trust operates a multi-channel revenue model spanning individual memberships (£15-£30 adoption packs and tiered annual memberships), recurring and one-off donations (including the Wilder 2030 Fund targeting £5 million by 2030), a weekly lottery, corporate partnerships, and a commercial Wild Solutions division delivering ecological consulting, Biodiversity Net Gain assessments, and planning advice to developers and local authorities. Its digital infrastructure centres on the Wild Maps platform — six interactive reserve maps built with technology partner ACE Nature and backed by the Derbyshire Biological Records Centre — combining aerial photography, satellite imagery, 3D models, video, audio, fixed-point photography, and verified biological records. Customer-facing systems are built on Stripe and PayPal for payments, Eventbrite for event booking, Engaging Networks for campaigning, and standard analytics tooling (Google Analytics, Hotjar, New Relic).

The trust's go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, combining grassroots volunteer organizing (Wilder Connections Officers, Wilder Chesterfield and Wilder Derby pilots, local groups) with national campaigns such as 30 Days Wild, the Wildside Festival, and segmented youth programmes (Nature Tots, Wildlife Watch, Junior Rangers, Wild Schools). Distribution runs through physical reserves, the e-commerce website, community programme officers, and the Wild Solutions B2B service line, with the trust operating exclusively in the United Kingdom (Derbyshire and broader Midlands).

Name

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust

Legal name

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust

Website

https://derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is a UK registered charity (founded 1962) that protects and rewilds habitats across Derbyshire through nature reserves, species reintroductions, community programmes, and professional ecological services funded by memberships, donations, grants, and lottery income.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Conservation Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190)

akta.pro primary industry

Wildlife Conservation & Species Protection (BPAGAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Animal Shelters & Adoption Services (BPAGAIAA), Education & Community Outreach (Responsible Pet Ownership) (BPAGAIAK), Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

Keywords

• Wildlife conservation services
• Nature reserve management
• Habitat restoration programmes
• Environmental education services
• Biodiversity monitoring services

Headquarters

HQ city

Middleton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Annual and ongoing memberships providing recurring revenue. Members receive benefits including free cuddly pine marten on joining, access to reserves, and support for conservation work.
2. Donations and Fundraising: One-time and recurring donations from supporters. Includes regular giving programs, legacy giving, in-memory giving, and specific appeal campaigns such as the Wilder 2030 Fund and Middleton Moor appeal.
3. Adoption Packs: Sale of animal adoption gift packs containing soft toys, certificates, key rings, bookmarks, and species-focused booklets. Packs priced at £30 (standard) or £15 (beaver mini plush).
4. Lottery: Weekly lottery program generating funds for wildlife conservation while offering participants the chance to win prizes.
5. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate membership program and sponsorship arrangements with businesses supporting conservation work.
6. Professional Services (Wild Solutions): Wild Solutions DWT provides ecological services, planning advice, and nature-based solutions to developers and organizations, including Biodiversity Net Gain assessments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is a registered charity that protects and restores wildlife across Derbyshire by managing a network of nature reserves, running species reintroduction programmes (white stork, pine marten, Eurasian elk), and engaging communities in conservation. It sells membership subscriptions, animal adoption packs, operates a Wild Maps digital citizen science platform, and provides professional ecological consulting services through Wild Solutions. Funding is derived from donations, memberships, grants, retail product sales, and corporate partnerships.

Product overview

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is a conservation charity operating a portfolio of membership, donation, education, and professional services to advance wildlife conservation and rewilding across Derbyshire. Its core consumer products include animal Adoption Packs (fox, hedgehog, otter, barn owl, beaver) sold for £15–£30 and annual Membership tiers offering a free pine marten plush. Fundraising is channelled through the Wilder 2030 Fund (£5 million campaign by 2030) supporting three pillars: Land, Species, and Communities. Species reintroduction programmes include White Storks at Willington Wetlands and Pine Marten recovery planning. The Trust's digital Wild Maps platform (powered by ACE Nature) offers six interactive citizen science maps spanning nature reserves and providing biological records, aerial imagery, video, audio, and fixed-point photography for public engagement. The Trust also operates Wild Solutions professional ecological services (planning advice, BNG, habitat surveys), manages a network of nature reserves including the newly secured Middleton Moor (135 acres), delivers youth and adult education programmes (Wild Schools, Nature Tots, Junior Rangers, Wilder Learning), and runs health and wellbeing initiatives (Wild Wellbeing). The Wilder Chesterfield urban rewilding pilot and Derbyshire Biological Records Centre complete the offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Animal Adoption Packs Eco-friendly animal adoption gift packs sold for £30 (fox, hedgehog, otter, barn owl) or £15 (beaver mini plush) including a soft toy plush, certificate, key ring, bookmark, and species-focused booklet. Proceeds fund local wildlife conservation across Derbyshire.
• Membership (Fox and Pine Marten tiers) Annual membership programme with tiered options (Fox and Pine Marten levels). New members receive a free cuddly pine marten plush. Members support the Wilder 2030 strategy and receive communications about wildlife news, events, and reserve access.
• Wild Maps Network of six interactive digital wildlife maps covering Willington Wetlands, Lightwood, Witches Oak Water, Allestree Park, Eldon Hill, and Cowdale. Combines aerial photography, satellite imagery, 3D models, video, audio recordings, fixed-point photography, and verified biological records for citizen science engagement. Technology powered by ACE Nature; biological records hosted by Derbyshire Biological Records Centre.
• Nature Reserves Network Network of nature reserves across Derbyshire managed by the trust, including Willington Wetlands (113-acre wetland reserve), Lea Wood, Allestree Park, Eldon Hill, Derwent Living Forest, and the newly secured Middleton Moor (135 acres). Reserves support habitats from wetlands and meadows to ancient woodland and limestone grassland. The Middleton Moor acquisition connects with nearby wild spaces to create a 1,000-acre connected nature recovery network.
• White Storks Reintroduction Project Species reintroduction programme to return white storks to the Midlands at Willington Wetlands, more than 600 years after their regional disappearance. Includes a purpose-built predator-proof enclosure, captive breeding support from Celtic Rewilding, community-led habitat restoration, and digital visitor engagement. Supported by £309,386 from Veolia Environmental Trust through the Landfill Communities Fund.
• Wild Solutions Professional Services Professional ecological consulting services offered through Wild Solutions (wildsolutionsdwt.co.uk), including planning advice, biodiversity net gain assessments, habitat surveys, ecological impact assessments, and nature-based solutions for developers, landowners, and local authorities.
• Wild Schools Environmental education programme for schools offering curriculum-linked outdoor learning experiences, Forest School sessions, and practical conservation activities designed to connect children with nature.
• Nature Tots, Wildlife Watch, and Junior Rangers Age-segmented youth programmes: Nature Tots (ages 0-5), Wildlife Watch (ages 5-11), and Junior Rangers (ages 11-18), providing outdoor activities, wildlife exploration, and conservation learning for children and families.
• Wilder Learning (Adult Training) Adult training and professional development courses covering nature conservation, ecology, habitat management, and outdoor skills as part of the trust's education and skills programme.
• Derbyshire Biological Records Centre Biological records centre collating and verifying wildlife sightings and species records across Derbyshire. Accepts records from the public and local recording groups; data feeds into Wild Maps and informs conservation planning. The Derbyshire Badger project and Peregrine Webcam are managed through the trust's wildlife division.
• Wild Wellbeing Health and wellbeing programmes connecting people with nature for mental and physical health benefits, including Wild Wellbeing at Home (digital resources) and Wildscapes for Wellbeing (structured outdoor nature activities).
• Wilder Chesterfield Two-year urban rewilding pilot project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, targeting five areas of Chesterfield (Holme Hall, Barrow Hill, Mastin Moor, Poolsbrook, and Duckmanton). Aims to turn town streets into wildlife habitats through community action for hedgehogs, bats, swifts, and pollinators, including wildlife monitoring, habitat creation, and citizen science.

Quantifiable outcome

• Target of 1,000 acres of connected nature recovery network through Middleton Moor acquisition
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Celtic RewildingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2026Specialists providing captive breeding facility expertise and consultation for white stork reintroduction project. Located in Staffordshire, they operate the breeding facility supporting the project's success.
• Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term land management partnership since 2022 for 36-hectare Cowdale nature reserve near Buxton. Protecting water resources and restoring biodiversity on former limestone quarry.
• ACE NaturecoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner providing video expertise and digital platform capabilities for Wild Maps interactive network, enabling citizen science and wildlife monitoring.
• The Wildlife TrustscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational parent organization of 46 Wildlife Trusts across the UK. Provides shared brand, campaigns including 30 Days Wild, and collective advocacy. Endorsed by Sir David Attenborough.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• WWF-UK: Larger international wildlife NGO not directly competing but a comparable advocacy and fundraising player in UK conservation space, sharing donors and policy influence.

Broad incumbents

• National Trust: UK heritage and landscape charity managing countryside estates for conservation and public access; overlaps on reserves management and visitor engagement though much larger.
• The Wildlife Trusts (national body): Umbrella organisation of 46 Wildlife Trusts; provides national brand, shared campaigns (30 Days Wild), and Attenborough endorsement that Derbyshire benefits from.
• RSPB: Larger UK bird and wildlife charity operating reserves and conservation programmes nationally; overlaps on species reintroduction and advocacy but broader mandate and scale.
• Woodland Trust: Major UK conservation charity focused on woodland acquisition and restoration, with comparable membership, volunteer, and land stewardship model.

Direct peers

• Sussex Wildlife Trust: Sister Wildlife Trust operating across Sussex with similar membership, reserves, education programmes, and reintroduction activity. Closest peer given parallel structure under The Wildlife Trusts network.
• Staffordshire Wildlife Trust: Midlands Wildlife Trust partner with overlapping species reintroduction work and shared regional conservation priorities, including connections with Celtic Rewilding.
• Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust: Adjacent Wildlife Trust in the East Midlands offering the same blend of membership, reserves, education, and conservation programmes - directly comparable operations and scale.

Emerging players

• Butterfly Conservation: Specialist UK invertebrate conservation charity with overlap on State of Nature-style reporting, citizen science, and habitat restoration on woodland and meadow reserves.
• Celtic Rewilding: Niche rewilding organisation providing captive breeding expertise for DWT's white stork project; comparable conservation focus with smaller scale and project-based model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/DerbyshireWT
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/derbyshirewt
• Facebookfacebook.com/DerbyshireWildlifeTrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/derbyshire-wildlife-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/derbyshirewildlifetrust
• TikToktiktok.com/@derbyshirewildlifetrust

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Derbyshire Wildlife Trust