Fundraising: For Land-Based Nature Restoration Projects

Opportunity to make a BIG difference for nature by helping to build a funding pot for land-based nature restoration projects in Devon! 

Recently DEF has been oversubscribed with innovative and impactful projects requiring funding to do their vital work protecting and restoring nature on the ground.

On average we receive over £150,000 of grant applications every quarter from grassroots groups looking after the wild places we all love.

Despite the generosity of our supporters, we are currently only able to fund an average of 46% of the value of grant applications we receive.

Therefore, every quarter many projects with huge potential for positive environmental impact remain un-funded, or scaled-back – this has equated to a quarterly shortfall of approx. £80,000 in 2024 and 2025, so we’re looking for ways to close this funding gap.

After 5 years of working in this space, DEF is well-placed to identify high-impact, land-based nature restoration projects – and channel rapid, flexible funding to deliver benefits for people and nature across Devon.

One of the most effective ways you can enable nature restoration on the ground is to join forces with DEF’s supporters to direct funds where they are needed quickly, to deliver maximum gains for nature.

To help address our funding shortfall, we have set a target to raise an additional £120,000 from new donors in 2025 (£30,000 per quarter) to support land-based nature restoration projects in Devon.

Example scenarios that would provide DEF with an additional £120,000 a year for grants:

💰100 x people or small businesses donating £50 a month (or £600 a year) = £60,000

💰20 x larger businesses or philanthropists donating £250 a month (or £3,000 a year) = £60,000

This additional support would enable us to fund an extra 5 to 10 projects a year (depending on grant size) – a relatively modest amount (when compared to schemes deployed by government programmes and national NGOs) – but we know from experience this would make an immense difference for nature on the ground.

If you want to have a positive impact on nature in Devon, please join forces and become a regular supporter of DEF. Add your support here.

PIPELINE PROJECTS SPRING 2025 – TOTALLING £120,000

Examples of five inspiring projects in our pipeline that require urgent funding to enable them to do their important work…

🌿Force for Nature – £20,000 to replicate a successful model of deploying volunteers to undertake key nature restoration tasks, such as tree/hedge planting, ditch/pond creation, building leaky dams, removing invasive species, etc. Providing a free resource for farmers and landowners to carry out nature-positive tasks, and the chance for volunteers to get involved and connect with others and nature – delivering immense cumulative impact for the people involved and nature.

🌱Farm Clusters  – £30,000 to fully fund three farm clusters a year, or part-fund more. Farm Clusters offer a cost-effective way to share and grow nature-friendly farming expertise among neighbouring farmers. With government funding sources facing an uncertain future, there is a gap that DEF, along with local funding partners, could usefully fill to kickstart new clusters and ensure existing clusters can continue their work.

🌿Washfield Wetland – £20,000 to support the next stage of establishing an ambitious new wetland habitat, formed by a collaboration of local farmers and landowners uniting to create a new biodiversity hotspot, improve river water quality, and reduce soil run-off and flooding a key downstream sites.

🌱Moor Trees – £20,000 required to further support this community tree nursery on their mission to sow, grow, and plant more local provenance tree species to increase the quantity, quality, and diversity of native trees planted in Dartmoor and South Devon – providing vital habitat, food, and shelter for diverse wildlife and increasing woodland resilience.

🌿Land for Nature – £30,000 to pilot a new initiative to match-make people looking to acquire land for rewilding or regenerative agriculture with plots coming to market, to make nature-friendly land acquisition easier, taking advantage of local knowledge about land sales, and providing a network for new landowners to access the expertise and support they need to manage their land effectively for nature.

“Everywhere you look there are brilliant, passionate people working to create positive environmental change. Relatively small amounts of funding, strategically directed, can supercharge this work. “
– Ben Goldsmith, Co-Founder, DEF

DEF’s TRACK RECORD FUNDING LAND-BASED NATURE RESTORATION 

A selection of impactful land-based nature restoration projects we have recently funded include…

🌱Regen Ag Training: Kick-starting a new regenerative excellence hub at the Apricot Centre, offering practical training to fill the skills gap and grow the next generation of regenerative farmers – sequestering carbon and mitigating the effects of climate change.

🌿Earth Action North Devon: Tackling plastic pollution, inspiring connection with nature, and facilitating sustainable behaviour change via community education, events, and campaigns to foster a healthier relationship between people and the natural world.

🌱Flete Field Lab: Trialling mycelium and biochar recipes to capture carbon, enhance soil quality, and clean up river pollution via mycofiltration; identifying replicable, low-cost, low-tech solutions that empower landowners and communities.

🌿Species Recovery Centre: Developing captive breeding expertise for some of Devon’s most important lost and rare species, with the ambition of returning high volumes to our nature depleted landscape. Biodiversity loss reduces global terrestrial carbon storage, therefore focussing efforts on restoring biodiverse ecosystems is one of the most impactful ways to tackle climate change.

🌱Wild About Devon: Providing small grants to empower local communities to take action for wildlife – creating new wildlife sites or changing the management of parks, gardens, churchyards, orchards, ponds, ditches and hedges to increase nature corridors and benefit a wide range of wildlife species.

If you want to have a positive impact on nature in Devon, please join forces with us and become a regular supporter of DEF.

As little or much as you can spare, when pooled with other donors, makes all the difference.

You can make a monthly or one time donation any time HERE. Or get in touch for our bank details.

Please spread the word among fellow local nature lovers and visitors to Devon! 🦫🦌🦔🦉🦋🦎

Huge thanks for any support you can give!