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Dorset Wildlife Trust

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Dorset Wildlife Trust

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Working to protect and enhance Dorset's wildlife and wild places. Let's make space for nature. We influence decision makers and others who affect our wildlife.
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Dorset Wildlife Trust is the largest nature conservation charity in Dorset. Founded in 1961, we now have over 26,000 members and manage more than 1,300 hectares within 42 nature reserves across Dorset. PLEASE NOTE:

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02/11/2026

🚨 Keep an eye out for hiding hedgehogs this bonfire night. 🚨

As we start to think about our planned celebrations, it's important to remember to check your bonfires before lighting for our small spiky friends (and other wildlife). 🦔 🔥

Bonfires are very dangerous for hedgehogs as woodpiles are ideal places for shelter. Sadly, many fall foul of unchecked bonfires and lose their lives as a result.

Make sure you follow our four simple steps to keep hedgehogs safe this bonfire night 👉 https://bit.ly/3TRf0j0 ~ Clara

📸 Tom Marshall

01/11/2026

From the return of Adonis blue butterflies to the creation of new wetlands, there's plenty happening at Lyscombe National Nature Reserve!

Over the past few months, we've been making some exciting changes to help nature thrive. More than 100 leaky dams have been installed along the Little Piddle, new areas are being prepared for wildflower restoration, and improvements to grazing are helping to bring our chalk grassland back to life.

But these are just the first steps towards a wilder future for Lyscombe.

In our latest blog, Lyscombe Ranger Ben Atkinson shares the changes taking place, the wildlife we're already seeing and our plans to let nature take the lead.

Read Ben's blog here 👉 https://bit.ly/4BBI3xN ~ Jack

📸 James Burland / Ben Atkinson

31/10/2026

Forget ghosts and ghouls this Halloween – there's plenty of life to see at your local churchyard, from bats to barn owls, beetles to butterflies! 👻🦇

As places that have rarely been used for agriculture, churchyards can be an oasis for wildlife. Over the last 22 years, our Living Churchyards Project has worked with 150 churches throughout Dorset to help manage their land with nature in mind.

From ecological surveys and hedgerow management to installing animal boxes, find out more about Living Churchyards and how you can get involved here 👉 https://bit.ly/3DbAYXR ~ Jenny

30/10/2026

Following the storms last week, an unusual species was discovered washed up at Studland – an Oceanic puffer. Usually found in open water in the warmer parts of the Atlantic as well as the Indian and Pacific oceans, these fish are a rare sight in the UK, but they do turn up occasionally. Pufferfish are so named for their ability to fill their bodies with water or air, ballooning to 3 times their original size, to deter predators. They are also well known to carry powerful toxins in their internal organs, so if you spot one, it’s best not to handle it, but please let us know. Thanks to Owen from Freedive.Life for reporting and kindly allowing us to share his incredible photo ~ Sarah 🐡

📸 © Owen ~ Freedive.Life

29/10/2026

When you’ve got 13,000 sphagnum moss plugs to plant, it’s time to call a few friends. 🌱

Organised by Forestry England, 47 volunteers from various local groups* gathered on Holt Heath on Wednesday armed with gardening gloves and hand trowels, spurred on by the promise of tea and biscuits. 🫖🍪

Following talks by Sarah Oakley, South District Ecologist of Forestry England, and Sharon Pilkington, consultant bryologist (specialist in mosses, liverworts and hornworts), we spread out across the designated area, looking for appropriate bare spaces in which to plant.

The plugs of mosses contained 5 species selected following research by Sharon and in collaboration with the growers, BeadaMoss, to ensure a mix of local sphagnums that will also be resilient to the challenges presented by the heath and climate change.

Each ‘Humok’ of moss has been grown specifically over a period of 9 months – so we were all keen to give them the best chance of success. Approximately 3,600 plugs were given a new home, and the planted areas were given GPS waypoints to create a map and help with monitoring their progress. The remaining sphagnums were taken for use at other sites, including a peat restoration project at Cannon Hill Mire where the Friends of Uddens and Cannon Hill Woodlands will be planting on Saturday.

And, after a busy day bent double and scrambling over Molinia tufts, we were more than happy to accept a lift back to the car park. 🚙 ~ Anna

*Dorset Wildlife Trust, Purbeck National Trust, Natural England, Friends of Udden's and Cannon Hill Woodlands, Wareham Wood Wardens, Moors Valley Country Park Volunteers, Ramsdown Heroes and Forestry England.

Cannon Hill Friends, Natural England National Trust Purbeck Countryside

28/10/2026

Say cheese! 📸🐷

Free-roaming grazing animals, such as the pigs at Wild Woodbury, have an important role to play in bringing back nature and creating wilder landscapes.

Grazing, trampling and rootling help to reduce dominant grasses and create bare ground, supporting wildflowers, pollinators, dung beetles and other wildlife by providing food, shelter and breeding opportunities. 🌷🪲

Your support can help us introduce more traditional and rare-breed cattle, ponies and pigs to nature reserves such as West Holme and Sopley Common, as well as the recently acquired land at Kingcombe Meadows – restoring natural processes to help nature return and flourish.

Help Nature Take the Lead across Dorset and help us bring back a more vibrant, healthy landscape. Donate now 👉 https://bit.ly/48eJSDf ~Clara

📸 Daisy Meadowcroft

28/10/2026

At this time of year good numbers of little egret start to arrive on the Brownsea lagoon. These elegant white birds, members of the heron family, hunt in the shallow waters by shuffling their feet through the mud to stir up invertebrate and fish prey which they sn**ch up with their dagger-like beak.

Little egret originally started appearing in the UK in the late 80s. Did you know in 1996 Brownsea was the first place in the UK they successfully bred? Since then the breeding colony has moved on, but the winter population are regulars.

We occasionally see other egret species such as cattle egret, and earlier in the autumn we were lucky enough to have a great white egret pass through, living up to its name by towering over its cousins.

Brownsea closes for the season at the end of this week on Sunday 1st November. Will you be popping over to see us?

🖊🎥📷 ~ Nicki T - Brownsea Ranger

27/10/2026

We had a wonderful time filming episode 10 of Ninebarrow: Wandering Minstrels at Lyscombe, Dorset Wildlife Trust's beautiful nature reserve last year. 😎

Walking through the landscape and hearing about the Trust’s work there gave us a real sense of what nature recovery can mean on the ground. It made us especially pleased to be able to support Dorset Wildlife Trust's 'Help Nature Take the Lead campaign, which will help bring what’s been learned at Lyscombe and Wild Woodbury to more places across Dorset.

At Wild Woodbury, around 40 hectares of wetland have been created, 125 bird species recorded, and skylark territories have grown from 2 to more than 55. We’ve seen how much can change when nature is given space.

Find out more about the campaign and how you can help by clicking the link in the comments. 😊💚

27/10/2026

A very busy Brownsea Lagoon on a recent misty morning!

But how many different bird species can you spot? 👀 ~ Jack

📹 Nicki Tutton

Address

Brooklands Farm
Dorchester
DT27AA

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441305264620

Website

https://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/

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