It acts as an umbrella group for the individual Wildlife Trusts, as well as operating a separate Grants Unit which administers a number of funds.

[2] David Bellamy was president of The Wildlife Trusts for ten years between 1995 and 2005,[3] and was succeeded by Aubrey Manning.

[5][2][6] Wildlife Trusts are local organisations of differing size, history and origins, and can vary greatly in their constitution, activities and membership.

The Trusts rely heavily upon volunteer labour for many of their activities, but nevertheless employ significant numbers of staff in countryside management and education.

Thanks to their work promoting the personal and social development of young people, The Wildlife Trusts is a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS).

[8] The Wildlife Trusts are one of the steering group partners of Neighbourhoods Green, a partnership initiative which works with social landlords and housing associations to highlight the importance of, and raise the overall quality of design and management for, open and green space in social housing.

[10] Today's Wildlife Trust movement began life as The Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves (SPNR), which was formed by Charles Rothschild in 1912.

These early Trusts tended to focus on purchasing land to establish nature reserves in the geographical areas they served.

[16] In recognition of the movement's growing importance, its name was changed to The Royal Society for Nature Conservation in 1981.