Suffolk Building Society commits £20K to Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s brand new nature reserve

As part of its ongoing plans to protect the local environment, Suffolk Building Society is donating £20,000 over three years, to help create a new nature reserve on the banks of the river Deben. This new Suffolk Wildlife Trust nature reserve is called Martlesham Wilds.

Martlesham Wilds sits within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and across the river from the burial site of Anglo Saxon royalty at Sutton Hoo. 

Suffolk Wildlife Trust secured the land thanks to a substantial legacy gift from Suffolk residents, Pam and George Ford. The purchase was completed with a loan, which the Trust must pay back within a year, and it is seeking help from the Suffolk community to achieve this fundraising target. 

The money donated by Suffolk Building Society will be put towards the creation of the reserve itself, as well as raising awareness to inspire others to donate to the appeal and visit the reserve.

The Society is also supporting the project through staff volunteering days, special member events and by match-funding where the Society will donate additional sums based on the money raised by its employees.  

This work is part of the Society’s aim to address two issues that it feels are most pressing in the county and most aligned to its values and history: providing safe homes and protecting nature. 

Richard Norrington, Chief Executive at Suffolk Building Society said: “The opportunity to create a new nature reserve is rare so we’re delighted to be able to support this vital project.

“Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s plans for the reserve are hugely exciting, and their values closely align with our own, as well as those of our members. In fact, in a recent research project undertaken by the Society, nine out of ten respondents in the Eastern region said conserving wildlife and the natural world was the most important social issue to them. I’ve visited Martlesham Wilds myself and we can’t wait to see how this special space for nature develops.” 

Christine Luxton, Chief Executive Officer, at Suffolk Wildlife Trust said: “Our nature reserves are fragments of the wilder landscape Suffolk once had and so, alongside protecting places that are already special, we also want to bring nature back into areas where it has been lost. This is our ambition for Martlesham Wilds. We are thrilled about the opportunity to protect this beautiful piece of Suffolk and welcome the support from Suffolk Building Society, its members, and the wider Suffolk community, in giving nature more space to thrive.”

Suffolk Building Society is offering its members a series of member events at Martlesham Wilds this spring and summer, with an opportunity for a guided walk and complimentary refreshments.

Details are on the member event section: https://www.suffolkbuildingsociety.co.uk/members/member-events 

See Suffolk Building Society’s videos of Martlesham Wilds here: https://www.suffolkbuildingsociety.co.uk/blog/a-new-nature-reserve-for-suffolk-saving-suffolk-campaign/