Crowdfunder now live:

Pledges

Land is expensive, and though we have been saving for many years, we also need to fundraise to make this possible. At the moment, we are taking donations through CrowdFunder, in association with our sponsored Coast to Coast walk, so please make any contributions you can through that link - and please spread the message far and wide! As well as friends and family, we need generous strangers who can give a helping hand.

The more support we get, the more land we can restore for nature. Please share our fundraiser!

We don’t yet have a specific piece of land in our sights, though we are keeping an eye on what’s coming onto the market, and hope to buy in the next year or so. We will keep you all posted on developments through this website!

How will we use the funds we raise?

• All money raised will be used for the project. We haven't yet put an offer in on a piece of land, so these funds will probably go towards that purchase. However, they might also be used for managing that land, depending on the amount raised and the purchase cost.
• Your money will not be used to financially benefit us. No one in Wild•Ling will be paying ourselves wages, or buying items or services that aren’t directly to do with the aims of the project.
• We will not reimburse any personal expenses from these funds. That includes the expenses associated with the Coast to Coast walk.
• We will put any subsequent income back into the project. We will try and get funding from schemes such as BNG and Landscape Recovery. If we are successful, we will put all income into managing the land for nature, or even into buying further land for further rewilding.

It’s important you know your money is going to be a force for good

Doing what we say we will

• The Project page and the Who We Are page set out our vision and plan, and also our conservation knowledge, skill-sets, and experience;
• We will continue to post updates on the project on this website: you will be able to see the impact your donation is having, as we return an area of land to wildlife;
• We will safeguard the land for nature into the future. Depending on what is most appropriate, this will take the form of a conservation covenant, or "asset locking" the land into a charity or Community Interest Company (CIC). Whichever we choose, we will aim to ensure the land is dedicated to nature in perpetuity.
• We will enter a scheme that pays money for managing nature (see Payments for Ecosystem Services, below). This will support and guide us in delivering the best management for nature, in a way that is as financially sustainable as possible.

Payments for Ecosystem Services

We will be exploring various schemes that pay land-owners (or managers) if they manage their land in a way that provides ecosystem services. That means, for example, managing land in a way that mitigates floods, sequesters carbon, or supports biodiversity, all of which benefit society. Such schemes include what are broadly referred to as agri-environment schemes, and also Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), which is designed to more-than-offset losses to development elsewhere. If we enter any of these schemes, we will put any and all money back into our project to achieve even more than before. We will not be making any personal profit from these schemes. If we get a very sizable income to the project from this (which is unlikely), we will even consider the feasibility of purchasing more land to restore for nature.

What if we don't make our fundraising target?

If we don’t make our target on our fundraiser, we still expect to buy land - however, it will be smaller, and that means reduced benefits for people and nature. This is a project we have been pursuing for a very long time. Our situation currently is “how much land can we afford?” rather than “can we do this at all?”

If something completely unforeseen occurs which forces us to abandon the project, we will do the following:

• If the donation is still on the Crowdfunder platform, and we are able to, we will refund the money to the donors.
• If we cannot do that, then we will donate the funds to an equivalent charity.