Trust’s delight as £1m-plus moorland fundraising appeal hits target

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is celebrating after raising over £1 million to buy a large area of moorland for restoration and rewilding.

The campaign, launched last year, aimed to raise enough money to buy a 135-acre site at Middleton Moor.

Now, thanks to a combination of public donations and grant funding, the trust has raised enough cash to secure the site.

According to the trust, while Middleton Moor itself spans the equivalent of around 76 football pitches, its strategic location will help link several surrounding wild spaces, creating a wildlife corridor spanning more than 1,000 acres.

Dave Savage, head of landscape recovery for the north at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said: “Securing Middleton Moor represents far more than land acquisition. It is a long-term commitment to restoring nature, reconnecting people with the places they live, and demonstrating that nature’s recovery is possible at the scale and pace required.

“This is what community-powered nature recovery looks like, and we can’t thank everyone enough for making it possible.”

The trust’s Middleton Moor appeal raised £182,000 in public donations during the run up to Christmas.

Alongside the funds donated by more than 2,300 members and supporters, a Biffa Award grant of over £825,000 has secured the land and will support an ambitious, landscape-scale restoration project to rewild the moor, reconnect habitats and unlock its full potential for nature’s recovery.

The Biffa Award is a multi-million-pound fund that helps to build communities and transform lives through awarding grants to communities and environmental projects across England and Northern Ireland as part of the Government’s Landfill Communities Fund.

Dave added: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has given, shared and championed this appeal.

“It’s thanks to the collective strength of our supporters and the support of Biffa Award that we have reached this pivotal moment.”

Rachel Maidment, grants manager for Biffa Award, said: “Biffa Award is extremely proud to support Derbyshire Wildlife Trust in securing Middleton Moor.

“Protecting and restoring the wildlife-rich land will deliver huge benefits for nature, climate resilience and local communities for generations to come.”