Conservation is an important driver behind our work here. On our 22 acre Wildlife Trail, we educate preservation and conservation in our displays and keeper talks. Many of our animal residents are threatened species in the wild, so educating our visitors on their conservation is very important to us. Here at Willow's we don't only educate on the subject of conservation, but we actively participate in valuable programs on our trail.

The bees are buzzing on our trail thanks to our Hive Program! A bee hive was set up on our trail in 2023, which is monitored and maintained weekly. Much of the UK's crops benefit from bee pollination, but trees and flowers also rely on bees to spread the growth of food and shelter for all wildlife. Native bee populations are currently declining due to climate change, habitat loss, and disease. Our Hive Program is a way for us to monitor and maintain our own population of bees and to provide a healthier natural ecosystem on our Wildlife Trail. Pollinators are so important to a healthy ecosystem and by providing hives for the bees we are helping all the native plants and animals on our trail. We have also turned some of the spaces around our Wildlife Trail into wildflower gardens. Allowing the grass and wildflowers to grow helps our bees as well as other native animals and insects!

Bug Hotels are all over our trail! We have built numerous bug hotels all across our Wildlife Trail to provide a place for insects to live and breed. In the UK, insect populations have drastically declined due to pesticides, habitat loss, and climate change. Insects are not only important pollinators, but they are also an important food source for much of our wildlife. Their population decline could have far-reaching consequences for both wildlife and people. When we provide bug hotels in different parts of our trail, we are providing a safe habitat for insects to rebuild that population and create a healthier ecosystem on our Wildlife Trail. Some of our bug hotels have even been made by our student volunteers! Educating the future generation on the importance of a healthy ecosystem is incredibly important to ensuring a healthier future!

Vulture Conservation is one of our highest priorities! We not only promote the conservation of vulture species through our educational displays with our Palm Nut Vulture, Edna, but we are also strong supporters of Vulpro. Vulpro is an organisation devoted to the population management and breeding conservation of African vulture species. Vultures face many man-made threats to their population leading some species to have declined by more than 95% in the last 30 years! These birds are incredibly important because of the vital role they play in the ecosystem. A vulture's diet consists of mainly dead animals, also known as carrion. Vultures have such a strong stomach acid, that eating carrion actually destroys most contagious bacteria and diseases that could otherwise be passed on to other animals. Without vultures, dangerous diseases would spread to all wildlife, including us! We provide more information about Vulpro and ways to help on education boards near Edna, on our Wildlife Trail. If you would like to donate to Vulpro and support their work then follow the link here!

Hedgehog Wild areas on our trail! On our Wildlife Trail, we have designated a space in our woodland to provide homes and hiding areas for the local hedgehogs. Our educational board provides simple directions for providing a safer space for hedgehogs in your own garden. Hedgehog populations are in serious decline across the UK due to habitat loss, pesticides, and road mortality. We believe it is important to protect all our native wildlife and our Wildlife Trail is the perfect place to show everyone how. Many of our hedgehog log piles have been built by our student volunteers!

Native Owls are incredibly important to us! Many of our resident owls on our Wildlife Trail are native species of owl and we want to do everything we can to help their wild counterparts. We proudly support the Barn Owl Trust in their work to monitor and preserve wild Barn Owl populations. Barn Owl populations have faced declines from habitat loss, road mortality, rat poison, and pesticides. We do our part by educating the public on different ways to help these beautiful owls, such as installing nest boxes and stopping the use of rat poison. If you would like to join us in supporting the Barn Owl Trust, you can see how by tapping the link here!

Conservation of the Lugger Falcon is on our minds! The Lugger Falcon, or Laggar Falcon, is facing a population decline across their entire range in the Indian Subcontinent. These birds are making their way to becoming a vulnerable species, making this the ideal time to act. We are proud supporters of Project Lugger, a UK based charity devoted to stopping their population decline through breeding projects and education. We do our part by contributing donations and providing educational talks on the plight of the Lugger Falcon. You can help too by visiting Project Lugger's webpage here and by visiting our Wildlife Trail to see our own Lugger Falcon, Sparx!

Conservation is important at all our sister locations and experience venues. Check out some of the work going on at Hobbledown and Hever Castle.

Make your own bug hotels for your garden with sticks, leaves, and pinecones. 

Build your own hedgehog-safe areas and leave a part of your garden wild.

Don't use rodent poison, it hurts all wildlife!

Donate to charities like Vulpro or the Barn Owl Trust.

Support our work by visiting us and listening to our educational talks and displays.

Sponsor one of our birds to help us continue to educate others.

Buy one of our hands-on experiences and meet our amazing birds and devoted keepers.

Tell your friends about us and follow us on social media!