Wilder Northumberland

15/09/2026

12/08/2026

Just over the watershed from Whitelee is the Kielder Wildwood, home to England’s last native population of Scot’s Pine. When discovered, there were only a few pines remaining, however a successful multi partner project created the Kielder Wildwood, reintroducing a range of site native species and boosting the Scot’s pine population with plants grown from seeds and cuttings from the original trees. Recently Forestry England have had great success propagating from the pines and kindly donated 20 young trees so that we could extend the population over the hill to Whitelee.

On Whitelee we’re establishing small areas of site native trees and shrubs, many of the species long since missing from the reserve. The hope is that these initial plantings will lead to natural succession over a much wider area through the coming decades. The donated pines were planted earlier in the year in the Green Cleugh, a steep side valley of the Bateinghope burn, a stone’s throw from the watershed. The expanded population will hopefully be better able to withstand future threats!

https://www.nwt.org.uk/blog/geoff-dobbins/william-cleugh-pines

08/07/2026

Check out this post on Amazing Meadows!

25/06/2026

Not just any old muddy puddle…

Wader scrapes create shallow, wet areas that provide ideal feeding and resting habitat for birds such as lapwing, redshank, curlew and snipe. By holding water and exposing soft mud, they make it easier for wading birds to find the insects and invertebrates they rely on.

The benefits go beyond birds too — scrapes can boost biodiversity, support other wetland wildlife, and help create more varied, resilient habitats across the landscape.

A simple feature, but with a big impact for nature. 🌿

We have worked with many landowners over the years to create shallow ponds and scrapes for all these outlined benefits and more. Find out more about our work on our website.

25/06/2026

Hosted by the Wilder Northumberland Network and the Northumberland Peat Partnership, the Great North Bog Day brings together landowners, ecologists, artists, and peatland specialists to explore the connections between people and peat.

📍 Moss Peteral Farm, Brampton, CA8 7HY
🗓️ Saturday 25 July 2026 | 10:00 - 15:30

Find out what's in store at this exciting event here: https://www.nwt.org.uk/events/2026-07-25-great-north-bog-day-2026

23/06/2026

We've been asked to share this by one of our members. Still tickets available!

Experience the award-winning gardens of Acomb High House! 🌿

Join us on Saturday 27th June, 12pm–4pm, for a wonderful afternoon exploring the stunning gardens of Acomb High House.

🏆 Winner of the Best Large Landscape and Garden Award 2022
🌸 Discover beautiful planting, inspiring design, and breathtaking views
🎤 Enjoy guided tours throughout the day with renowned garden designer Matthew Wilson
☕ Delicious refreshments available from the wonderful Acomb WI
🚗 Plenty of parking on site

🎟️ Book in advance for just £8 per person or pay £10 on the gate

📅 Saturday 27th June
🕛 12pm–4pm
📍 Acomb High House

BOOK HERE https://ow.ly/gVkK50Z767z

18/06/2026

🐄 New arrivals at West Chevington!

A herd of Belted Galloway bullocks has joined our coastal wilding site as part of the Wilding West Chevington project. Through natural grazing, fertilizing and organic wandering (with Nofence GPS collars) they’ll help restore habitats, boost biodiversity, and reduce the need for intensive land management!

Discover more about how these hardy cattle are transforming the landscape 🌿 👉 https://www.nwt.org.uk/news/cattle-moo-ving-on-druridge-bay-nature-reserve

18/06/2026

Great crested newts (GCN) sometimes get a bit of a bad rep in the world of planning and development, but Natural England’s (NE) District Level Licensing (DLL) scheme flips the narrative on its head. DLL is a strategic licensing scheme which aims to create a network of high-quality GCN habitat, through pond creation and restoration, to help mitigate against population declines whilst enabling developers to meet regulations and planning requirements.

A part of this process includes on-going surveying of registered ponds to monitor changes, flag remedial or maintenance needs and, of course, to check for GCN! This is where we come in. Northumberland Wildlife Trust are a delivering body contracted by NE to help design and create/restore DLL ponds and monitor pond “health” and GCN-status.

Throughout May and June, the Nature Recovery Team and a couple volunteers drove up-and-down Northumberland conducting eDNA tests - checking for GCN based on whether their DNA is present within the environment (pond water) – a Habitat Suitability Index and, new this year, water filtration to test water quality. The results will reveal whether GCN are using the ponds but, if not, we will be working with NE and pond experts to get them back up to scratch!

If you are a landowner, or know someone, who would like to get involved with the scheme, see here for more information. 👉https://www.nwt.org.uk/what-we-do/projects/wilder-northumberland-network/pond-creation-and-restoration-grants