Natural Habitat is a grassroots environmental charity reconnecting communities to nature, food and each other.
Our Mission & Vision
To connect communities through nature and sustainable land-use while supporting conservation and biodiversity, so that;
- Everyone in the local community has access to learning from the landscape, feels more connected to nature, food and each other; wellbeing is improved as a result;
- The benefits of regenerative land-practices are universally accessible and that local wildlife populations, habitats and food systems are thriving for current and future generations;
- The local community respects and protects biodiversity for current and future generations and that;
- Evidence based management is integral to conservation and community wellbeing.
Founded in 2023 and based in Suffolk, we are an environmental education charity that uses creative and collaborative approaches to make learning about conservation, protection of the environment and sustainable land-use, accessible to more people. We collaborate with local farms, experts, schools, diverse organisations and local communities, to celebrate our landscape and run educational projects.
You can read our annual report here: 24/25 Annual Report
Our Approach
No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.
David Attenborough
Our projects aim to provide opportunities for engagement and learning. We work with practitioners from diverse backgrounds to share knowledge and skills to support people in re-connecting with the land and the potential it holds for environmental and personal restoration.
The health of our local environment is intrinsically linked to the health of the people living within it, and we take a holistic approach to educating on this basis. We focus on providing activity from a place of empowerment, and collaborate with a multitude of local land based venues, to celebrate the progressive and positive actions happening around us, while creating opportunities to showcase distinct and varied approaches that support biodiversity.
We strongly believe in the power of collaboration and dynamic partnerships; bringing together people from different backgrounds enables varied perspectives to be shared, whilst providing opportunity for new approaches and ideas to form. Everyone has something to offer; from experts to participants, our projects encourage everyone’s voices to be heard. To enable the legacy of our work to reach beyond geographical and timescale boundaries, we aim to produce resources that can be shared. With the development of technology, we are able to make accessing our rural learning opportunities available to far more people than ever before; using live feeds, remote delivery approaches and resources, we are able to take our landscapes to communities.
Wakelyns Farm
We have recently partnered with Wakelyns with the aim to share the benefits of one of the oldest and most progressive agroforestry sites in Europe. This will enable us to showcase gold standard sustainable approaches to land-use, community and wellbeing. It is a soil association registered organic farm, with stacking enterprises that live and breathe our mission. From Wakelyns, we hope to be able to widen our impact through providing community access to research, development and technologies which support the work we do. Wakelyns is ideally located in North Suffolk, to provide outreach activity across Suffolk & Norfolk, collaborating with other farm and conservation sites. We currently have a total of 7 additional outreach venues within the Blyth Valley, which allow us to showcase a broad range of practices and give access to more of the community.
About Us
Who are we, and what is our story?
Our Story
Our land holds huge potential for restoration and stability, but hidden barriers restrict people accessing opportunities, education and tangible ideas to empower change.
What started as a conversation between friends – Our vision goes beyond conservation.
Cultivating Collaboration
Everyone has something to offer; from experts to participants, our projects encourage everyone’s voices to be heard, and create new opportunities for co-creation.
The Team
Behind every successful mission is a dedicated team, and ours is no different. Our diverse group of passionate individuals brings together a wealth of experience from various fields, all united by a shared commitment to protecting and restoring our natural world. From ecologists and land managers to educators and creatives, each member plays a crucial role in driving our vision forward.