“We all have a tendency to take nature for granted sometimes, me included”, says Fiona Mahon, Director of Nature Recovery at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. “It’s about trying to consider the environmental impact of our choices more often, so that we become nature-conscious in our everyday lives. I’m talking about simple actions that we can all do and that don’t cost the earth, such as walking to work if we can, or eating more plant-based, locally sourced food. By thinking and acting in a more planet-friendly way, we become a network of wildlife champions and have a positive impact on the world. One of my favourite quotes that I try to live by comes from Mahatma Gandhi – ‘We need not wait to see what others do. You must be the change you wish to see in the world’.”

Our vision is to see 1 in 4 people take action for wildlife by 2030. A big THANK YOU to all of our supporters who are leading the way to achieving that goal and supporting nature’s recovery. Read on to see the progress we’ve made together, in 2025.

More people are standing up for wildlife and taking action for nature’s recovery

In February, our younger supporters embraced our Hedgehog Walk, in partnership Aardman’s Timmy Time, walking 3km - the same distance as a Hedgehog roams in a night, whilst raising funds for the Trust.

In April, we asked you to help us put the ‘wiggle’ back and restore the natural health of our precious chalk rivers, through the Big Give Green Match Fund. You responded and through this match-funding campaign, your donations were doubled to a total of £20,000. Thank you for supporting nature’s recovery.

We devoted time and energy to shining a spotlight on the damaging aspects of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, providing evidence to bust the myth that nature protections are blockers to economic growth. We asked you to raise your objections to the risks the Bill poses to the natural world and your response was staggering. Over 1,100 of you contacted your MP – thank you for standing up for wildlife and for making your voice heard.

Our Wilder Communities Office, Kate Sheard, asked you to Pledge a Pond, helping us to track and protect these habitats, which attract in the region of 350 local wildlife species. You came up trumps – creating and restoring habitat in your gardens, community spaces, and school grounds – thank you.

We put often-overlooked hoverflies in the spotlight – giving this group of flies the kudos they deserve as pollinators and habitat indicators, so that we may all be more aware and welcoming of them.

Thanks to the support of local and regional media, we were able to highlight the acts of vandalism that take place on our nature reserves, and the stress that this puts on our time, funds and energy. Creating awareness, empowers the public to stand up for wildlife and report these mindless acts to the authorities. 

We launched a fundraising appeal to protect our local woodlands so that they remain safe, healthy and full of life. And you got this off to a wonderful start, showing us your love (and money) for these magical places, the wildlife they support and the wonders they do for our wellbeing. 

Nature is at the heart of our lives, supporting not just the planet but our health, wellbeing, and ability to tackle climate challenges

We launched our first Herts Rivers Week to celebrate our local rivers, raise awareness of their importance and encourage the public to take action for their future protection. A full programme of events took place, encouraging engagement, from meeting MPs to pond dipping and from riverside walks to the launch of our Chalk Stream Challenge. Save the date for Herts Rivers Week 2026, taking place from 23 – 31 May, and look out for more information to follow. 

Watford communities were encouraged to become wilder with the appointment of our new Wilder Communities Officer, Amy Trotter. During 2025, Amy attended the Herts Pride event in Cassiobury Park with the Trust, has supported the Garston Station Community Garden, brought Watford’s carers together for a nature walk, is inspiring students at West Herts College to value nature through a product design project, and has enjoyed getting the thoughts of the SEND Youth Council at Watford Young People’s Centre. She is looking forward to improving social equality in access to nature so that more people in the Watford area can enjoy its health and wellbeing benefits in 2026.

We were blown away by the scale of the public’s emotional outpouring when the Peregrines pair at St Albans Cathedral’s first clutch of eggs were destroyed. To everyone’s surprise – and joy - the pair went on to lay a second clutch, three healthy chicks hatched and went on to fledge the nest. It was fantastic to see so much support for wildlife and to see such widespread engagement. More good news followed with new sightings of three St Albans offspring in 2025 – in Oxford, Oundle and Basingstoke. 

At Stanborough Park, a new wetland area has been created close to ‘Splashlands’ playground, providing visitors to the park the opportunity to see wildlife such as dragonflies, damselflies and a variety of pond plants close-up. The Trust has also run training days to educate and inform anglers and park staff, and very soon the public will benefit from interpretation boards, which will introduce them to some of the river’s and wetland’s wild inhabitants. 

We encouraged you to take part in 30 Days Wild in June, and 12 Days Wild over the festive period. You did so in your droves and we loved seeing the joy you found in nature through your shared experiences. Why not make it one of your resolutions to join these initiatives in 2026?

Thank you to our members, supporters, volunteers, funders, landholders, and partners – none of this would not be possible without you.

You can read more detail about the stories above and others on our news pages here.