Wildlife Forever

Every legacy or donation received by The Wildlife Trusts is valued and appreciated.

When we receive news of a legacy we like to say thank you and also, if it is appropriate, to understand a little of why our supporter remembered us.

The following stories tell you about some supporters who each made a special gift to The Wildlife Trusts in their Will. Their generous support, like the support of many others, has been used to protect the wildlife and wild places that our supporters appreciated during their lifetime.

If you would also like to help protect wildlife forever then a gift in your Will to The Wildlife Trusts is a fantastic way to achieve this especially when, from day-to-day, you may not have much money or time to support us in other ways.

Babs Atkins - St George's Island
Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Babs Atkins moved wildlife haven of St George’s Island in 1965. In 2004 she left the island to Cornwall Wildlife Trust in her will. She had told the Trust of her intentions some years ago when she asked the Trust to promise that under no circumstances was the island ever to be passed onto anyone else – and NEVER into the hands of developers. The Trust worked under Bab’s supervision for several years to develop their plans on how best to manage the Island so she could see how they would protect the Island’s glorious wildlife. They have pledged to always remember Babs and to encourage any visitors to the Island, whether they come to photograph or paint wildlife, or to study the island’s birds or the unspoiled shore life – to enjoy the wonderful peace of the island as Babs and her friends had done for over 40 years.

Heather Black
Ulster Wildlife Trust

Heather Black was an enthusiastic member of Ulster Wildlife Trust. She travelled far and wide to enjoy wildlife in many countries around the world but she had a special love and concern for her local countryside. In particular Heather had an interest in The Wildlife Trust’s work to conserve the wildflowers and butterflies of the Umbra Nature Reserve near Magilligan and the beautiful Antrim Glens. Before Heather died she wrote to the Trust to let them know she had donated a share of her estate in her will to them. Now, almost five years later, Heather’s love of wildlife continues to live on through the work that Ulster Wildlife Trust is doing today. A fitting legacy for a lady that had so much passion for the place where she lived and the wildlife she enjoyed sharing it with.

Mary Widdup - the Brown Robin Reserve
Cumbria Wildlife Trust

Cumbria Wildlife Trust - A long-standing member and volunteer of Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Mary Widdup, lived in a cottage next to, what is now, the Brown Robin reserve. Over time Mary donated different sections of surrounding land to the Trust. In her Will, Mary left the Trust the final section of land which now makes up the reserve. During her lifetime, Mary spent a lot of time volunteering on the reserve and was a very enthusiastic conservationist. Brown Robin is 60 acres of woodland and grassland and continues to be one of the Trust’s most popular nature reserves. 

Marjorie & Jack Browne - Brownes Place
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamtonshire & Peterborough Wildlife Trust

Marjorie Browne was a volunteer and member of the local Wildlife Trust for over 20 years until she died in August 2000. When Marjorie died she left her local Trust a gift in her will that has made a lasting difference to the woodlands that she and her husband Jack loved so much. With this bequest, the Trust is now on its way to creating a great ‘South Cambridgeshire Forest’. Part of this new woodland will be named Brownes Piece in memory of Marjorie and Jack Browne, ensuring the couple and their commitment to wildlife are remembered forever.

Joan Elliot - The Joan Elliot Visitor Centre
Essex Wildlife Trust

Joan Elliot from Braintree had expressed her sadness at the decline of Essex wildlife and wanted the local Wildlife Trust to tackle the problem. When she died, she left a large donation in her Will to the Essex Wildlife Trust which spearheaded the purchase of Abbotts Hall Farm, a 700-acre farm on the Essex coast. In 2002, the sea wall was breached to recreate 200 acres of rare saltmarsh in a project which is the largest of its kind in Europe. Through this project, Essex Wildlife Trust seek to conserve farmland wildlife and coastal marshes as a fitting tribute to Joan Elliot’s generosity. They have named their new headquarters, The Joan Elliot Visitor Centre, in her memory.

Vera Paul - Warburg Reserve
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT)

The Trust's flagship reserve, Warburg Reserve near Henley-on-Thames, was bought thanks to the efforts of one of the Trust's founding members, Vera Paul OBE. She single-handedly raised all the money to purchase the land in the 1960's, then later built a warden's cottage and paid the warden's salary for many years. She was not a typically wealthy woman, but was passionate about wildlife. On her death in 2001, Vera Paul left an endowment to the Trust to ensure that this important nature reserve in her beloved Chilterns is protected forever.