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Puffins on the Farne Islands, Northumberland

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Coronavirus update Our latest media statement
Dallowgill is the source of the Skell

Reviving historic river valley amid threat of climate change  

We’re beginning a project to protect North Yorkshire's Skell Valley, including the globally important Fountains Abbey, from flooding thanks to a £1.4m grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Find out how we're working with Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and other partners to restore 12 miles of the River Skell, tackle the effects of climate change and create places for wildlife.

Our work at Skell Valley
Large blue butterflies on Rodborough Common

2020 weather and wildlife review  

It's been a year of mixed fortunes for the UK's wildlife. While extreme weather and warm temperatures have had a huge impact on wildlife this year, many species thrived in the peace and quiet of lockdown. Discover how birds, animals and insects fared during the last 12 months and learn more about our work to protect the natural world.

Erosion on Brown Tongue, Scafell Pike, Wasdale

Help us reduce erosion at the places we care for 

We're pleased that so many of you are enjoying the countryside but we need your help to protect the places in our care against footpath erosion. Find out how increasing visitor numbers, social distancing and winter weather are affecting precious landscapes.

Protect the places you love
A group of volunteers uncovering the mosaic

Britain’s first known 5th-century mosaic found at Chedworth  

Our archaeologists shed light on the ‘Dark Ages’ after finding a 5th-century mosaic at Chedworth Roman Villa in Gloucestershire. The dating of the mosaic shows that a sophisticated life continued within this luxury mansion, decades after Britain ceased to be part of the Roman Empire.

Beech woodland in autumn at Ebworth, Gloucestershire

Funding boost for nature and wildlife 

We've received vital funds to help us restore woodlands and safeguard the places in our care against the effects of climate change. Discover how money from the Government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund will support our work to look after ancient trees, plant trees, prevent flooding and reduce and capture carbon.

Funding boost for nature and wildlife
Rosamund Contance Talbot 26 May 1870 Dal giardino Della Sirene, Sorrento, Italy

Lacock Abbey's watercolours are now online  

A collection of watercolours at Lacock Abbey can now be seen by the public for the first time thanks to our partnership with Watercolour World. Nearly 1,000 paintings and preparatory sketches are now online for all to explore. The watercolours were painted by the Fox Talbot family, who lived at the Wiltshire estate.

A beaver swimming in the river at Holnicote

Beavers at Holnicote Estate build dam  

The beavers at the Holnicote Estate in Somerset have created a dam nine months after moving into their new home. This modest but effective construction, made from trees and vegetation, is thought to be the first beaver dam on Exmoor in more than 400 years. Find out how these shy creatures help us tackle the effects of climate change and create wildlife havens.

Meet nature's heroes
A woman stands beside a fallen tree, gently lifting leafy lichen growth from the trunk

Our work to save rare lichen 

We’re trying to save one of England’s rarest and oldest lichens by removing it from a fallen oak tree in the Lake District and transferring it to dozens of nearby trees. The lungwort lichen (Lobaria pulmonaria) is characteristic of the wildwood that took root after the last ice age and has been in decline since the 18th century. Find out more about the work we’re doing at Borrowdale to protect it.

Grey seal pup at Blakeney Point

Seal pup numbers set to soar at Blakeney 

Our rangers are expecting around 4,000 pups from the grey seal colony at the Blakeney National Nature Reserve on the Norfolk coast. The booming population of grey seals in the area means we're having to change the way we count the new-born pups. Find out more about how we protect these curious creatures.

Counting seals
Be inspired by nature this Halloween

How to have a nature inspired Halloween 

Creating a spooky Halloween shouldn't have to have a frightening impact on the environment. Use seasonal veg to carve your way to fun decorations, then reuse the materials for delicious autumnal recipes.

Have a sustainable Halloween
a leaf in the autumn sunlight at Knightshayes

We've reduced compulsory job losses following consultation 

Following the biggest redundancy consultation in the National Trust’s 125-year history, we’ve been able to almost halve the number of proposed compulsory job losses at the charity. This will help us to save about £100m to support our conservation work each year and 'grow back stronger in the long-run.'

Find out more
A canopy of trees at One Tree Hill

Restoring woodlands affected by ash dieback 

Historic trees and woodlands are facing a huge challenge. Ash dieback has surged in part due to a dry and very warm spring. We predict between 75–95 per cent of all ash trees will be lost in the next 20-30 years. We need your help to care for the future of our woodlands.

Read the full story
Two red squirrels on a feeder box

Help us look after red squirrels 

We're calling on visitors to the places in our care to help us protect endangered red squirrels from a deadly disease by taking their litter home with them. As we mark Red Squirrel Awareness Week, our rangers are warning that dropped packaging and food could lead to the spread of squirrel pox.

Caring for red squirrels
Penrhyn Castle in Wales, Clandon Park gardens in Surrey, Speke Hall in Liverpool and Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire

We've published our report into colonialism and historic slavery 

We've released our 'Interim Report on the Connections between Colonialism and Properties now in the Care of the National Trust, Including Links with Historic Slavery', which details the connections between 93 of the historic places in our care and colonialism and historic slavery. It is part of our commitment to ensure such stories are properly represented, shared and interpreted as part of a broader narrative.

Find out more
Apple picking at Cotehele

Apple orchards produce bumper crops this autumn 

We've had an excellent harvest of apples this year thanks to ideal weather conditions at nearly all of the 200 traditional apple orchards we look after.

Celebrate the apple harvest
Arctic tern at Long Nanny

Looking after terns at Long Nanny 

Arctic terns at Long Nanny in Northumberland have not fledged chicks for the first time since 1980 after severe weather and lockdown restrictions hampered our work to protect them. Find out how we look after these rare seabirds.

Caring for terns
Anna Forrest, Curator, holding a document at Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk

Archaeologist discovers rare items under the floor of Oxburgh Hall 

An archaeologist working alone through lockdown in the attic rooms of Oxburgh Hall has uncovered thousands of rare items under the floorboards. The variety, age and significance of the items found and what they reveal make it a unique discovery.

Discover more about the finds
A Large Blue butterfly

Bringing back large blue butterflies 

We've brought the endangered large blue butterfly back to Stroud in Gloucestershire, where it hasn't been seen for 150 years. Discover how we worked with partnership organisations on the biggest reintroduction project of its kind in the UK.

Bringing back large blues
Close up of an oak leaf

Our spending cut plans in response to coronavirus losses 

Like most organisations, we've been hit very hard by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite already making considerable savings we need to act now to save much more to secure the beautiful places that we all love. Regrettably, this means proposed staff redundancies alongside other measures to cut our costs. We're confident that these savings will put us in a strong position to face the challenges ahead, for generations to come.

What's proposed

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