Charity

Landmark in conservation: Blue Diamond & National Trust reach £1 million donation

Blue Diamond announced that its collaboration with the National Trust has reached its landmark achievement, with over £1 million donated to the Trust in support of conservation work across the UK.

Croft Castle
© National Trust

One of the biggest financial contributors of the National Trust’s gardens and parklands, Blue Diamond Garden Centres pledged £1 million to the National Trust over three years (2022-2025), to fund vital conservation projects.

Over the course of the three years, the garden centre group has supported a wide range of National Trust projects, from restoring historic gardens and conserving rare habitats to strengthening biodiversity and responding to the challenges of climate change. Projects included:

  • Enhancing historic gardens: The creation of a new flower garden at Berrington Hall in Herefordshire; renewing the kitchen garden at Wightwick Manor near Wolverhampton; supporting research ahead of the creation of an 18th-century inspired Apothecary Garden at Nostell in West Yorkshire; renovating the historic stumpery at Biddulph Grange Garden in Staffordshire; protecting the famous apple tree said to have inspired Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity; and a new fence at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire. In process: the repair and restoration of 18th-century paths at Stourhead in Wiltshire which is expected to take several years.
  • Protection of fragile habitats: Safeguarding biodiversity and planting of 200 oak trees in the ancient woodlands at Croft Castle and Parkland in Herefordshire.
  • Conservation of heritage buildings and landscapes: Maintenance of structures and grounds, such as the rebuilding of the glasshouse at Benthall Hall in Shropshire.
  • Climate resilience initiatives. Supporting the Trust’s work to adapt sites to the challenges of climate change, by incorporating sustainable planting schemes. One such project involved reinstating the wildflower meadows at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire – the former home of Sir Isaac Newton.

“We are immensely proud to have reached the milestone of £1 million in support for the National Trust. This achievement reflects the passion and commitment of our customers and colleagues, who share our belief in protecting the nation’s natural and cultural heritage. While our formal collaboration is now concluding, our admiration for the Trust’s work remains steadfast,” said Alan Roper, Managing Director of Blue Diamond Garden Centres.

Sheila Das, the National Trust’s Head of Gardens and Parks, added: “We are very grateful for Blue Diamond Garden Centres’ support, which has seen vital projects accomplished across a breadth of garden features. This funding has enabled us to make real progress in caring for the places people love, enabling many to enjoy them now and into the future.”

BlueskyLinkedInReddit