2025 Enhanced

Impact Report 2024-25: Our Year for Wildlife

Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Impact Report 2024-25 highlights the first spoonbill breeding success in the Norfolk Broads in roughly 400 years, continued restoration of west Norfolk's wetlands for species like the northern pool frog, and the opening of a new community co-designed urban nature reserve, delivered across more than 60 reserves and over 5,000 hectares of land managed for wildlife.

Report snapshot
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About

Nature reserve management, wetland and reedbed restoration, planning application review with wildlife in mind, roadside nature reserve protection in partnership with Norfolk County Council, community engagement and education

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 First known breeding success of spoonbills in the Norfolk Broads in around 400 years, recorded at Hickling Broads and Marshes
Key Metric 2 Over 60 nature reserves managed across Norfolk, with land owned or managed for wildlife exceeding 5,000 hectares
Key Metric 3 1,500 volunteers helped protect wildlife across the county during the year

Key Outcomes

  • New urban nature reserve co-designed with the local community, expanding accessible green space in Norfolk
  • Continued restoration of west Norfolk wetland reserves, creating more ponds for the rare northern pool frog
  • Examined planning applications with wildlife in mind to help protect Norfolk's most important habitats from development pressure

Geography

East of England

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
5,999 active volunteers contributed 776,242 hours in 2025/26
Key Metric 2
137 winter maintenance projects across 45 canals; 109 lock gates replaced
Key Metric 3
101,640 children participated in Explorers/STEM outdoor learning, including 67,896 water-safety participants
Over 80% of the network kept fully open despite drought.
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
The Eco-Schools programme reached over 1.4 million pupils, with 2,162 schools awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
326,000 volunteers pledged to the Great British Spring Clean, picking up 425,626 bags of rubbish, supported by 288 local authorities and parish councils
Key Metric 3
2,227 Green Flag Awards given to parks and green spaces in the UK; 151 beaches given a Blue Flag and/or Seaside Award
98.3% of educators felt the Eco-Schools programme significantly supports young people's development of 'green skills'
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
61,819 native oysters deployed across UK restoration projects in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
15,064 people participated in the Beachwatch beach clean programme, submitting 1,256 litter surveys — the highest in the programme's 31-year history
Key Metric 3
17,613 young people engaged through in-person or online youth programme sessions
£11.5 billion Ofwat investment package secured for storm overflow cuts in England and Wales following sustained MCS advocacy
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
191,000 cats and kittens helped — 525 a day (2023: 184,000); 29,000 cats rehomed; 168,000 cats neutered including 13,000 feral cats; 93,000 cats microchipped
Key Metric 2
£96.9 million total income (2023: £89.3 million); £108.5 million net assets; £50.1 million legacy income; 9,800 volunteers (2023: 9,200)
Key Metric 3
430 cat owners helped to flee domestic abuse with 750 cats given temporary foster homes (Lifeline) — up from 229 in 2023; 5.9 million...
Mandatory microchipping for cats in England came into force June 2024 — direct result of years of Cats Protection campaigning; Pet Abduction Act came into force August 2024 making cat theft a specific criminal offence; Cat Manifesto sent to every election candidate with 111 newly elected MPs having responded