Natural World Fund: restoring the UK’s wild places through habitat, science, and partnership

A group of volunteers stand on moorland holding spades, ready to plant trees. — Community tree planting in Cumbria (Natural World Fund)

By Ed Jackson, Founder and Trustee

Across the UK, conservation teams are grappling with a stubborn reality: nature is still in decline.

Habitat fragmentation, degraded soils, pollution, altered hydrology and under-resourced land management continue to limit recovery. Many funding streams remain narrowly focused, administratively heavy or insufficiently tied to the ecological processes needed for long-term resilience.

Natural World Fund (NWF) works to address these gaps: restoring land using ecological science, unlocking habitat recovery without the need for expensive land purchases and working in genuine partnership with those who manage the countryside every day.

Who we are and why we exist

Founded by Ed and Glenn - two lifelong best friends - Natural World Fund is built on a simple belief: that ecological restoration must be grounded in evidence, designed at the landscape scale, and structured so that funding flows to where it matters most.

A volunteer stands on moorland ready to plant trees. — Volunteer planting trees (Natural World Fund)

Many schemes still prioritise short term aims, single-species outcomes, or rely heavily on tree planting even where it is not ecologically appropriate. Our approach is different. Every project begins with detailed site assessment, typically including:

Habitat classification
Phase 1 and extended Phase 1 surveys
Soil analysis
Baseline vegetation surveys
Hydrological assessments
Peatland assessments
Landscape connectivity mapping

This ensures that interventions - whether woodland, wetland, meadow, scrub restoration or natural flood management—are tailored to the site’s ecological reality.

Crucially, NWF does not need to purchase land. Instead, we work collaboratively with landowners, tenant farmers, councils and community partners to restore habitat across multiple holdings. This makes projects more cost-effective and unlocks sites that would otherwise remain untouched.

With these assessments in place, we design and implement restoration actions that respond directly to each site’s ecological potential, ensuring that interventions are effective, proportionate and strategically placed.

Newly planted trees on hilly moorland. — Bank of trees planted by NWF volunteers (Natural World Fund)

What we do - from fragmented habitats to functioning ecosystems

We restore habitats across the UK by combining ecological expertise with hands-on delivery. Our work includes:

Native woodland and hedgerow creation
Peatland and wetland restoration
Wildflower meadow and grassland recovery
Soil improvement and habitat diversification
Natural flood management features that benefit both people and wildlife

Many of our projects sit in places that traditional schemes overlook - areas where tree planting is unsuitable or where past land use has limited ecological potential. Using detailed site assessments, we design the right intervention for the right place.

Through our restoration partnerships, we provide subsidised project management and ecological guidance, making high-quality restoration accessible to landowners without the need for costly consultants.

To make this work possible across multiple landscapes and landowners, we rely on a flexible funding model.

How funding works - donations, grants, and business partnerships

NWF uses a blend of funding sources to support restoration:

Individual donations: Supporters contribute directly to habitat restoration, with even small monthly contributions pooled to fund practical works such as planting, fencing, sowing, hydrological works or monitoring.
Business partnerships: We offer monthly giving programmes, tailored environmental partnerships, team volunteering days and co-funded restoration projects. These often complement corporate sustainability strategies and biodiversity reporting needs.
Grants: External grants enable us to subsidise project delivery for landowners, making high-quality ecological restoration accessible even where budgets are limited.

As a charity, we prioritise ethical spending: at least 80% of all donations go directly to restoration, with the remainder supporting essential operational capacity. Our trustees are committed to ensuring that the funding reaches the ground.

This structure allows us to co-fund landowner projects, reduce barriers to entry, and support partners who lack in-house ecological staff or the capacity to manage complex funding applications.

Why this model matters for conservation

A group of volunteers stand on moorland holding spades in the air. — Volunteer tree planting day in Northumberland (Natural World Fund)

Our approach offers several advantages:

Flexibility: Because we do not rely on land purchase or single-intervention funding, we can design multi-habitat projects tailored to fragmented and mixed-ownership landscapes.
Reduced burden: With free or subsidised project management and technical expertise, partners don’t need in-house specialists to deliver high-quality restoration.
Landscape-scale impact: Working with multiple landowners and funding partners enables strategic, catchment-scale restoration rather than isolated project sites.
Integrated benefits: Our broad ecological goals allow us to deliver biodiversity gain, carbon sequestration, flood-risk reduction and habitat connectivity in one package.
Transparency: Clear spending breakdowns, regular updates and value-for-money commitments provide confidence and accountability.

For individuals and organisations seeking long-term conservation outcomes but constrained by funding, time or capacity, NWF’s model is a practical route to unlock nature’s potential.

Because our model is designed for collaboration, there are several ways to work with us.

How to get involved

Landowners and farmers: Request a free initial site consultation. We assess ecological potential, identify funding routes and design a tailored restoration plan.
Local authorities and conservation bodies: Partner with us on landscape-scale initiatives, especially in fragmented ownership areas where coordination and capacity are limiting factors.
Businesses and organisations: Join our Partnership Packages to support habitat restoration, volunteer onsite and receive transparent reporting for sustainability frameworks.

Individuals: Donate, subscribe, volunteer or visit restoration sites during open days to see projects first-hand.

Learn more at www.naturalworldfund.org.uk

Conclusion

The UK faces an urgent need for ambitious, scientifically grounded habitat restoration that works across real landscapes—not just within the boundaries of owned land. Natural World Fund offers a model built on ecological rigour, partnership and value for money. By enabling landowners, businesses and individuals to collaborate, we are helping to rebuild resilient ecosystems across the country.

Britain’s wild places can recover, but only if we work together. Through flexible funding and practical restoration, NWF provides a route to deliver that recovery on the ground, at scale, and where it is needed most.

For site assessments, partnership enquiries, restoration opportunities, or anything else, visit www.naturalworldfund.org.uk.