The world is facing a major ecological crisis. Increased urbanisation, pollution, climate change, and diseases like ash dieback are all devastating the habitats wildlife calls home.

Nature is becoming isolated in nature reserves, like Kingcombe National Nature Reserve. But plants and animals need to move. To flow. So they can spread freely and reconnect with nature in other parts of the county.

Large or small, your donation can help reconnect Dorset’s wildlife. Your gift could go towards planting trees, restoring ponds, creating meadows, re-wilding rivers and protecting rare species. It could also help pay for Conservation Officers who work with farmers and landowners around Kingcombe.

As part of our strategy to create a Wilder Dorset by 2030, we are striving to establish Nature Recovery Networks on land and sea, working closely with our neighbours and partners to agree long-term management that makes space for nature and supports communities and livelihoods.

Kingcombe’s Wild Energy will be the most ambitious nature recovery programme we have ever undertaken in Dorset. 

To deliver this project, we need £300,000. We kick started this appeal with the help of three generous supporters who donated £165,000, but we urgently need your help to raise the remaining £135,000 in the next twelve months.

Help by donating now

The recent designation of Kingcombe National Nature Reserve, one of the UK’s finest wildlife sites, gives us a unique opportunity to tackle the ecological crisis and have a transformative impact on the diversity and abundance of nature in West Dorset.

It comprises two neighbouring nature reserves, Kingcombe Meadows and Powerstock Common, covering a mosaic of habitats across 309 hectares, including grassland, woodland and scrub on either side of the River Hooke.

Kingcombe Meadows is a paradise for wildlife, boasting thick hedgerows, stunning wildflower meadows and a patchwork of small fields unspoilt by fertilisers and pesticides. It’s home to dormice, otters, kingfishers and barn owls.

Meanwhile, the wet and dry grassland, scrub and woodland of Powerstock Common offer a rich list of rare, protected and much-loved species where adders, lesser horseshoe bats and great crested newts can all be found.

YES! We'd love for you to visit Kingcombe National Nature Reserve. It comprises two neighbouring reserves, Kingcombe Meadows and Powerstock Common, covering a mosaic of habitats across 309 hectares on either side of the River Hooke in west Dorset.

Kingcombe Meadows is a paradise for wildlife, boasting thick hedgerows, stunning wildflower meadows and a patchwork of small fields unspoilt by fertilisers and pesticides. It’s home to dormice, otters, kingfishers and barn owls. 

Powerstock Common offers a rich list of rare, protected and much-loved species. Adders, lesser horseshoe bats and great crested newts are all found in its wet and dry grassland, scrub and woodland.