This habitat is exceptionally rare. Only 400 hectares exist across the UK and almost 100 of these are managed by Durham Wildlife Trust.
As a charity, we have a unique opportunity to protect these grasslands and the species which depend on them (3/3)
donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...
We’re raising money to restore our region’s rare magnesian limestone grasslands. In doing so, we expect richer wildflower swards, better habitat for pollinators and stronger northern brown argus populations 🦋 (2/3)
Our Magical Meadows appeal starts tomorrow! 🪻
Taking place between the 22nd – 29th of April, this is your opportunity to have your donation DOUBLED as part of the Earth Raise campaign (1/3)
donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...
Do you love nature? Want a good excuse to get outside? Join this year’s #CityNatureChallenge, April 24–27, and help us observe plants, animals, and other species from around the globe. All you need is a smartphone & the free iNaturalist app. Learn more👉 durhamwt.com/city-nature-challenge
Our appeal to restore the North East's magical meadows begins in just THREE days! ✨🌼
From 22-29 April, your donation to revive these unique habitats and create homes for the Northern Brown Argus butterfly will be doubled 💚
donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...
It can be found in woodlands under host trees but is only visible above the surface when it flowers in spring.
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A pale pink, spike‑shaped woodland flower rises from the leaf litter, its tightly packed tubular blooms tipped with yellow. The plant has no visible green leaves and stands among dry brown leaves and low green ground cover on a forest floor.
Toothwort is a fully parasitic plant that taps into the roots of hazel and alder trees. Its strange colour comes from a lack of chlorophyll as it doesn't need to photosynthesize and gets all of its nutrients and energy from its host.
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Prime real estate for kittiwakes. The ledge is starting to look busy.
🎥 Watch live online: durhamwt.com/kittiwake-cam
Three people stand on rocks beside a small woodland stream. An adult steadies a child as they step across the stones, while another child watches nearby. Lush green trees surround them, and text on the image reads “Sign up for #30DaysWild,” with a small credit to Evis and Tom Photography in the corner.
30 Days Wild sign ups are open! 🌳🐸🦎🐛
This June is all about getting wild. It could be listening to birds, spotting bugs, or just taking a moment outside.
Register for your free pack today 👉 durhamwt.com/30-days-wild-2026
This spring Durham Wildlife Trust is taking part in the Earth Raise initiative, a seven-day online match funding campaign dedicated to helping charities to tackle environmental issues.
This means that every pound given to restore magnesian limestone grasslands will be doubled 💚
Issues such as fragmentation - caused by agriculture, building development and industrial activity - mean that there are fewer of these already rare (and, for many species, vital) landscapes (2/4)
The North East of England is home to two thirds of the UK’s magnesian limestone grasslands- unique ecological landscapes providing habitats for a range of rare pollinators, flora and fauna🪻
However these habitats are currently at risk (1/4)
The snake's-head fritillary is an unmistakeable plant: look for its chequered, purple, pink or even white, bell-like flowers, nodding on thin stems.
📷 Paul Rodgers
Two small birds perched on a lichen‑covered branch: a Eurasian nuthatch on the left with blue‑grey upperparts and buff underparts, and a bright yellowhammer on the right calling with its beak open. Blurred natural background; photo credited to Paul Cleasby Photography.
Two birds, one very dramatic conversation.
📷 Paul Cleasby
Need a break during your #HedgehogWalk? We’ve got you covered!
Find a spot and let your little explorers be inspired by the nature around them with some of our Timmy Time colouring sheets! 🎨🦔
www.durhamwt.com/hedgehog-wal...
Catch up with the Tyne kittiwakes live online. 👇
🎥 durhamwt.com/kittiwake-cam
🩵 You can help us keep the camera rolling for seasons to come by donating, scroll below the camera feed to find out more.
A collage promoting Durham Wildlife Trust’s marine work, showing a rocky coast, a dolphin surfacing offshore, a gloved hand holding an oyster, green seagrass, a shoreline of brown kelp, and a YouTube search bar for the Stronger Shores talk series, with the Durham Wildlife Trust logo in the corner.
💻 Catch up on our Stronger Shores series of talks on YouTube. 🌊🦪🌱🐬
Two Great Crested Grebes face each other on calm water in a courtship display, one with its beak open; “Paul Cleasby Photography” appears at the bottom.
Two Great Crested Grebes face each other on calm water in a courtship display, one with its beak open; “Paul Cleasby Photography” appears at the bottom.
One of the best ways to support wildlife in your garden is to create a pond. Discover some of the special species living in garden ponds in our latest blog.
🐸 durhamwt.com/blog/pond-patrol
Our visitor centres & coffee shops at Rainton Meadows and Low Barns are open all bank holiday weekend. Make the most of the long weekend with a stroll through a stunning wild space, enjoying everything that spring wildlife has to offer.
🚧 Parking barriers close at 4.30pm
From 24–27 April 2026, every wildlife sighting you record in the free iNaturalist app helps build vital ecological data that supports conservation across the Durham Wildlife Trust patch and beyond.
Find out more 👉 durhamwt.com/city-nature-challenge
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Join us for the world's largest bioblitz!
The City Nature Challenge is an annual global event to see how many wild species people can spot over four days.
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Our favourite Tyneside birds are back at the Baltic. 😍
Watch the kittiwakes live on our website. 👇
🎥 durhamwt.com/kittiwake-cam
🌊 Missed our Stronger Shores Talks?
If you weren’t able to join us live, you can catch up on YouTube. Topics include kelp, cetaceans, seagrass, oysters and Moray Ocean Community.
🔎 YouTube: Durham Wildlife Trust - 'Stronger Shores Talk Series' playlist.
This is especially important for bilberry, which is the larval food plant for green hairstreak butterflies. It also creates more varied habitats for ground nesting birds. 💚
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Southern Task Force Volunteers were busy this winter cutting and clearing heather at Stanley Moss Nature Reserve. Cutting creates a mosaic of different ages of heather and allows the plants growing underneath to reach the light.
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Our amazing volunteers & staff helping with planting of more than 3,000 new trees at Milkwellburn Wood. The planting, completed to an agreed specification, will offer an important new habitat for local wildlife. Once established, selective thinning will result in a more varied woodland structure. 🌳
Ready to walk 3km for wildlife? 🥾
Join The Wildlife Trusts and Aardman’s Timmy Time for the #HedgehogWalk – a fun filled outdoor adventure.
Perfect for families and youth groups to get out, enjoy nature and raise money for wildlife! 👇
www.durhamwt.com/hedgehog-wal...
Our Volunteering Officer, Caitlin, featured on Channel 5’s ‘Love Nature’ programme last week, sharing the beauty of the North East coast and our work to keep it tidy. Catch up online. 🌊
