Help change the future for local wildlife

Add your voice and energy to those of other incredible local people doing what they can for nature in Sussex. Every person and every action adds to our power to change things for the better. For nature and for people.

Protect your local area

Speak up for wildlife and create the conditions for nature to flourish in small pockets and large stretches of space across Sussex. From campaigning to planting to rewilding, you can make your garden, your community or your land richer and wilder.

Defend local wildlife

Volunteer for nature

Nature needs your skills, passion and energy! Volunteer with us to learn, make new friends, and share your love of nature. Help care for our reserves, monitor wildlife, create wilder communities, or introduce others to the joys of nature.

Volunteer with us

Share what you find

Tracking the wildlife species in our county is an important part of protecting them and showing what works best to create space for nature to thrive. You can help us by logging the wildlife you see on the iRecord app. Common or rare, every sighting helps us learn.

Log wildlife sightings

Raise money

Make a trek, throw a party, organise a quiz, or knit for nature! Choose how you want to raise money to fund the critical work to protect wildlife and create wilder spaces on land and at sea. We’re here to help you do it!

Start fundraising

Make a donation

Your donation, no matter the size, makes a difference. Make a one-off or monthly donation to help fund a specific initiative close to your heart, or to support our ongoing work to defend, rewild, inspire and educate.

Donate

Shop

All profits from the sale of these products in this shop go towards our nature conservation work across Sussex.

Shop now

Get your school involved

From Forest School training for teachers to whole-school programmes and our nature discovery centre at Rye Harbour, there are lots of ways we can help your learners experience, protect and learn about the value of nature in their communities.

Connect your students to nature

Get your business involved

Partnerships with local businesses are vital to our work. Get involved to help create wilder communities, give your team the chance to make a difference, raise your profile with local people, and be part of a network that shares your values.

Become a business partner

Give in memory

If nature meant something to someone you loved, making a donation in their name is one way to honour their memory. You can make a personal donation in their name, or request donations instead of flowers at their memorial.

Donate in memory

Leave a legacy

When you leave a gift to The Sussex Wildlife Trust in your will, it will be used to defend and encourage local wildlife to thrive in wild spaces and unlikely urban places. It will go towards working to create a future Sussex where wildlife is abundant.

Leave a gift in your will

Support a campaign

Your voice can help shape decisions and make laws to protect local wildlife and create healthier spaces for everyone in Sussex. Support our current campaigns to influence local plans and national policies that affect us locally.

Speak out for nature

Fund an appeal

You can choose to support a specific project or initiative by donating to one of our appeals. Our appeals vary from responses to local emergencies to funding for specific longer term conservation or education projects.

View all appeals

Become a member

Memberships builds our community and gives us a predictable income, which lets us plan and sustain longer projects that can have a greater impact. The more members we have, the more we can do to protect the Sussex countryside and coast.

Join us

Leysdown trainees in action © Pip Newby

Abi Weeden Kerry Williams — Abi Weeden, Head of Wilder Learning, birding at Rye Harbour © Kerry Williams

25 OC SWT BenfieldHill 2 1 — Collecting Yellow-rattle seeds at Benfield Valley © OC Studios

Seasearch dive volunteer © Kai Hilton

Hit Squad Levin Julia Hoare — Hit Squad at Levin Down © Julia Hoare

NW24WATER1113 — March for Clean Water in London

10,000 + species

of plants, animals, birds, insects and invertebrates are found across our nature reserves in Sussex.

38,000 people

are members of Sussex Wildlife Trust. That’s a powerful community for change.

5,000 acres

of land are being restored and protected in our nature reserves across Sussex.

1000 + volunteers

give their time and energy to nature in their community through projects and initiatives that we run.

Initiatives

The work we’re doing for nature

Wilder Ouse

Sussex Beavers

Youth Rangers

800sussex kelp c paul bonifacesussex underwater nov 24 2 w800h600

Sussex Kelp Recovery Project

Wilder Horsham District

Gatwick Greenspace Partnership

Sussex Shoresearch

Sussex Seasearch

iniatives Deneway Wilder Future Volunteer day Victoria Barrell

Deneway’s Wild Future

Closing in on Net Zero by 2030

Chailey School leaky dam building Lesley Rickman 2

Lost Woods of the Low Weald and Downs

Weald to Waves

See all initiatives

Campaigns and appeals

reserve Malling Down misty Nigel Symington

Speak up on development in East Sussex

Brighton Marina dredge disposal

Support the National Emergency Briefing

Marine Appeal

£33,761 / £100,000

reserves Southerham summer Paula Oakley 1

Wild Sussex Fund

£15,000 / £10,000,000

Lobby your councillor to lead with nature

How we’re defending and restoring wild spaces in Sussex

To reach our ambitious goals to inspire action for wildlife, restore habitats and create climate-resilient landscapes, our work focuses on multiple different areas. Within each one there are elements of conservation, education and community engagement.