Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. Its patron is Prince Charles, and its president is Kate Humble.[1]

Looking across to the main buildings and Sloane Observation Tower of the WWT Headquarters at Slimbridge, Gloucestershire
Statue of Sir Peter Scott at WWT London Wetland Centre
Sheltered Lagoon at the London Wetland Centre

History

The WWT was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist and artist Sir Peter Scott as the Severn Wildfowl Trust.

The first site at Slimbridge was a centre for research and conservation. In a move unusual at the time, he opened the site to the public so that everyone could enjoy access to nature.[2][3]

This modest beginning developed in time into the formation of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, the only United Kingdom charity to promote the protection of wetland birds and their habitats, both in Britain and internationally.[4] Although starting out at Slimbridge, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust now owns or manages eight other reserves in Britain,[5] and advocates for wetlands and conservation issues world-wide. WWT Consulting is an offshoot of the Wildlife & Wetland Trust and is based at Slimbridge. It provides ecological surveys and assessments, and offers consultancy services in wetland habitat design, wetland management, biological waste-water treatment systems and the management of reserves and their visitor centres.[6] The Queen in later years became Patron to the WWT, and Prince Charles became the President.[7]

The WWT was instrumental in saving the nēnē from the brink of extinction in the 1950s.[8]

Nature reserves

The WWT has over 200,000 members and ten reserves with visitor centres. Together these cover over 20 km2, and support over 150,000 birds. They receive over one million visitors per year. The reserves include seven SSSIs (site of Special Scientific Interest), five SPAs (Special Protection Areas) and five Ramsar sites.

Consultancy

WWT also operates a consultancy business that provides external clients with a comprehensive range of wetland services. These include ecological survey and assessment, habitat design and management, visitor centre planning and design, and wetland treatment systems.[9]

Organisation

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust is a registered charity in England[10] and Scotland.[11] Martin Spray has been chief executive WWT since March 2004.[12] In December 2012, he was appointed CBE.[13][14]

See also

References

  1. "Council members". wwt.org.uk. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  2. "History of WWT". Wildfowl & Wetland Trust. Archived from the original on 7 September 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  3. "WWW Slimbridge Wetland Centre". Cotswolds.info. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  4. Bell, Catharine E. (2001). Encyclopedia of the World's Zoos. Taylor & Francis. p. 1331. ISBN 978-1-57958-174-9. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  5. "Our nature reserves: Slimbridge". WWT. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  6. "WWT Consulting". Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (Consulting) Ltd. Archived from the original on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  7. "Royal support for drains that "work with nature"". Latest from WWT. WWT. 19 May 2015. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  8. Black, Jeffrey M.; Duvall, Fern; Hoshide, Howard; Medeiros, John; Hodges, Cathleen Natividad; Santos, Nelson; Telfer, Tom (1991). "The current status of the Hawaiian Goose Branta sandvicensis and its recovery programme". Wildfowl. 42 (42): 149–154. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  9. "WWT Consulting". Archived from the original on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
  10. Charity Commission. Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, registered charity no. 1030884.
  11. "Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Registered Charity no. SC039410". Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
  12. "Management board". wwt.org.uk. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  13. Avery, Mark (30 December 2012). "Congratulations to Martin Spray". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  14. "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 9.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.