Herefordshire Wildlife Trust

What Herefordshire Wildlife Trust does

Herefordshire Wildlife Trust is a registered charity (number 220173) and the largest membership-based wildlife organisation in Herefordshire, United Kingdom, operating from its headquarters at Queenswood Country Park & Arboretum near Leominster. The Trust functions as a county-level affiliate of The Wildlife Trusts national network (46 trusts across England and Wales) and stewards a portfolio of 40+ nature reserves spanning ancient woodlands, hay meadows, floodplains, and wetlands, including designated sites such as Lea & Paget's Wood (SSSI). Core activities centre on reserve management, species recovery programmes (curlew, pine marten, bats, black poplar, floodplain plants), landscape-scale ecological restoration across more than 5,000 hectares in the Wye and Lugg corridors, environmental consultancy for farmers and landowners, and public engagement through events, workshops, guided walks, and educational programmes for schools and families.

The Trust's portfolio also includes physical visitor infrastructure (Queenswood Country Park with café, visitor centre, and gift shop), two physical charity shops in Hereford and Ledbury, an e-commerce online shop, venue hire at Queenswood, and digital tools such as the Wildlife Explorer species database and an interactive Hereford City Tree Trail. Revenue is generated through a hybrid non-profit model combining individual membership fees (8,000+ members), donations, charity retail, venue hire, fees from events and workshops, agricultural consultancy, and project grants including multi-year support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The organisation is volunteer-intensive (300+ active volunteers) and lean in paid headcount (24 employees), with governance provided by a Board of Trustees currently chaired by Jake Bharier (elected April 2024) and executive leadership under CEO Saul Herbert.

The Trust's recent strategic activity has emphasised landscape-scale expansion rather than product diversification: the 2022 purchase of Ail Meadow, the March 2023 long-term lease of Bartonsham Meadows with the Church Commissioners for England, and the scaling of multi-programme landscape recovery initiatives (Wilder Hereford, Recovering our Rivers, Severn Treescapes, Ice Age Ponds) all point to a deliberate shift from discrete reserve stewardship toward county-wide ecological coordination. Digital capabilities are limited to informational web tools with no disclosed AI/ML components, and the organisation's competitive position rests on local community trust, physical reserve assets, and its affiliation with the national Wildlife Trusts brand rather than on technology differentiation.

Name

Herefordshire Wildlife Trust

Legal name

Herefordshire Wildlife Trust

Website

https://herefordshirewt.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Herefordshire Wildlife Trust is a registered UK charity and the largest membership-based wildlife organisation in the county, managing 40+ nature reserves, running species recovery and landscape restoration programmes across 5,000+ hectares, and serving 8,000+ members, 300+ volunteers, schools, families, and farmers through events, consultancy, and visitor facilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Management

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

akta.pro primary industry

Wildlife Conservation & Species Protection (BPAGAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC), Conservation Parks & Private Nature Reserves (Visitor Operations) (THAAAFAB)

Keywords

• Wildlife conservation
• Nature reserve management
• Environmental education
• Habitat restoration
• Community conservation

Headquarters

HQ city

Leominster

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, Others

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels14 records

Core offering

Herefordshire Wildlife Trust is a UK registered charity that manages 40+ nature reserves across Herefordshire and delivers conservation, education, and community engagement services. Its core activities include habitat and species recovery programmes, a year-round events and workshops calendar, a membership programme (8,000+ members), volunteering opportunities (300+ volunteers), visitor services at Queenswood Country Park & Arboretum, charity retail (two charity shops and an online shop), and environmental consultancy for farmers and landowners.

Product overview

Herefordshire Wildlife Trust operates as a membership-based nonprofit organization dedicated to wildlife conservation in Herefordshire. The organization functions as a single, unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Core offerings include nature reserve management (spanning ancient woodlands, meadows, and wetlands), an events and activities program (guided walks, workshops, family activities), volunteering opportunities, membership program, visitor services at Queenswood Country Park & Arboretum, charity retail operations, and environmental consultancy. Digital services include the Wildlife Explorer species database and Hereford City Tree Trail. The portfolio also encompasses species recovery initiatives and landscape-scale conservation programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nature Reserves Management Stewardship and management of a network of 40+ nature reserves across Herefordshire, including ancient woodlands, meadows, wetlands, and specialised habitats such as Lea & Paget's Wood (11-hectare SSSI in Wye Valley AONB) and Ail Meadow (7-hectare lowland pasture in Woolhope Dome).
• Events & Activities Programme Year-round programme of guided walks (butterfly, bat, dawn chorus), Nature Tots sessions for children, Wild Adventure Club, family events, adult workshops, and courses for members, families, and the public across Herefordshire.
• Membership Programme Annual membership programme with 8,000+ members providing core funding for the Trust, with member benefits including newsletter, events access, and conservation updates.
• Queenswood Country Park & Arboretum Major visitor destination featuring a nationally important arboretum, ancient woodland designated as SSSI, a Gruffalo Sculpture Trail, café, visitor centre, gift shop, and waymarked trails. Visitor facilities open to the public.
• Volunteering Opportunities Practical conservation volunteering including roving volunteer groups for reserve management, meadow cutting, tree guard installation, citizen science, and habitat restoration projects, supported by 300+ active volunteers.
• Charity Shops and Online Shop Retail operations comprising two physical charity shops in Hereford and Ledbury, a gift shop at Queenswood Country Park, and an online shop selling books, gifts, and wildlife-themed merchandise to raise funds for conservation.
• Wildlife Explorer Online species exploration tool allowing visitors to discover and learn about Herefordshire's wildlife across categories including birds, wildflowers, invertebrates, and habitats.
• Species Recovery Programme Conservation initiatives including the Herefordshire Curlew Project, pine marten monitoring, the Herefordshire Bat Atlas, black poplar planting, floodplain plant recovery on Lugg Meadows, and ash dieback response.
• Landscape Recovery Initiatives County-wide ecological restoration programmes including Wilder Hereford urban wildlife project, Recovering our Rivers, Severn Treescapes, Ice Age Ponds conservation, Verging on Wild road verges, and Local Wildlife Sites support.
• Farming with Nature Consultancy Agricultural consultancy advising farmers and landowners on wildlife-friendly land management practices, habitat creation, and participation in landscape recovery covering 5,000+ hectares of the River Wye and Lugg catchments.
• Venue Hire Hiring of facilities at Queenswood Country Park for events and corporate functions, generating income to support conservation.
• Hereford City Tree Trail Interactive circular walking trail through Hereford city featuring information about native and ornamental tree species, accessible via mobile device.

Quantifiable outcome

• Bartonsham Meadows: 40-hectare floodplain restoration creating habitat for skylarks, barn owls, voles, and pollinators
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Worcestershire Wildlife Trust: Neighbouring Wildlife Trust running reserves, education events, and conservation projects with similar scale and member-base profile. Comparable local trust with overlapping geographic and operational remit on the Wye Valley.
• Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust: Sister local Wildlife Trust operating in the adjacent county with an almost identical model: nature reserves, membership, education programmes, reserves-based conservation, and landscape recovery. Strongest direct peer for benchmarking.
• Shropshire Wildlife Trust: Adjacent county-level Wildlife Trust with comparable reserve network, volunteer base, and education programming. Directly comparable as a regional Wildlife Trust operating in the West Midlands borderlands.

Broad incumbents

• National Trust: UK heritage and conservation charity with extensive estate holdings, membership programme, paid visitor attractions, and conservation land management. Comparable as a large UK conservation charity with reserves, visitor venues, and membership income streams.
• Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT): UK wetland conservation charity operating wetland visitor centres, membership, and species recovery (similar to the Trust's floodplain meadows work). Comparable on wetland habitat management and paid visitor attraction model.
• Woodland Trust: UK charity focused on woodland conservation with active reserve acquisitions, free public access, and membership. Comparable as a charity managing woodland nature reserves (including ancient woodland such as Lea & Paget's Wood).
• The Wildlife Trusts (Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts): Umbrella body for 46 local Wildlife Trusts across the UK; Herefordshire Wildlife Trust is an affiliated member. Comparable as the national coordinator of local conservation charities running reserve networks, membership programmes, and advocacy campaigns.
• RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds): Largest wildlife conservation charity in Europe, operating nature reserves, membership programmes, and species recovery initiatives. Comparable as a UK-wide membership-based conservation charity with reserve management and species recovery work.

Emerging players

• Butterfly Conservation: UK charity dedicated to butterfly and moth conservation with reserve management, volunteer networks, and species recovery. Comparable as a specialised wildlife charity running guided walks and habitat recovery programmes.
• Plantlife: UK wild plant conservation charity running species recovery (e.g., black poplar work that overlaps with the Trust's planting programme) and reserve management. Comparable as a specialist conservation charity in the species recovery space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/herefordshirewt.bsky.social
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC7JvxlsnFo95e9bIZ7UTGyw/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/Herefordshirewt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/herefordshire-wildlife-trust-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/herefordshirewildlifetrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Herefordshire Wildlife Trust