I picked up a recent report from Wales Environment Link which estimated that, here in Wales, there’s a gap of between £5 billion and £7 billion between the resources currently dedicated to nature recovery and what's really needed.

5 to 7 billion pounds!                             

This is an eye-watering figure... 

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the size of this problem in a world full of big problems. But, like most fundraisers, I am relentlessly positive. I’m positive because helping nature recover benefits almost every other problem. And - we know that nature is on our side! It’s always trying to come back, we just need to give it space. The Shrill Carder Bee recorded at Bridewell Common on the Gwent Levels in 2025 being just one local example. 

BUT, to give nature the space it needs in Wales, big changes are needed: what we value and prioritise, the policies and decisions we make for land use, and how we enable and drive more investment for nature here.

And these choices are particularly at the fore for all of us in Wales right now, as we elect a new Senedd. 

Meanwhile, what are we doing here at GWT to bring in more funding for nature recovery in Gwent?

Firstly, we’re constantly trying to be more efficient and effective with the traditional ways we raise money as a charity. These funds are the bedrock that keeps our work going. We have incredible supporters here at Gwent Wildlife Trust. Your membership donations, the donations you make to our appeals, gifts of land, gifts in wills, your fundraising events and challenges, and the ripples these create are more important than ever. We're a small team, and we truly value and appreciate every donation, every membership, every pledge of a legacy gift, every hour volunteered – especially when you tell others about it too, multiplying our reach across Gwent. Our strength lies in our local connections and that’s our supporters and your connections too. Our wonderful local group volunteers build support for wildlife in and around Usk, Chepstow and Abergavenny. We’d love to support local action groups in other areas of Gwent – and would love to hear from anyone that could help us with this.

Project grants, which have typically funded around half our work, are becoming much more scarce, more competitive and more difficult to rely on as government budgets are more stretched. So across GWT teams we’re developing more partnerships with various organisations, some you might expect us to be working with, like the Eden Project and The Grange Project and others outside our traditional sphere, like Asylum UK – a new partner for our Wild Health programme.

But - that £5-7bn gap – a transformation in nature’s recovery also needs a transformation in funding... 

Government alone can’t deliver nature recovery, not when so many other areas also need investment. Yet healthy soils, natural flood management, and better health are just a few ways nature can make our economy and society more resilient. Businesses already understand this and the private sector can and is helping finance this transformation at a massive scale – Aviva’s Temperate Rainforest initiative, which we wrote about in the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of our Wild About Gwent member's magazine, is an example. 

So the Wildlife Trusts have also been gearing up across Wales to mobilise more finance – including loans, investments and grants for nature-based products or services. For example, you might have heard about Biodiversity Net Gain – a requirement in England – for new developments to leave nature in a measurably better state – at least 10% better. Having this policy requirement in Wales will spur that greater investment nature needs. Farmers hold deep knowledge and are central to our communities so need to be part of this. And the Wildlife Trusts, with our specific knowledge of ecology and people in our local patch, and our high integrity principles, will ensure these investments bring long-term benefits for people and wildlife.

You’ll hear more about how we are developing this through our various comms over the coming year, including if you are a member through Wild About Gwent. And if you’re not a member – we would love for you to join us and boost that committed support nature needs.