£10,000 raised to restore the heathlands!

Thanks to your donations, we have now raised over £10,000 towards restoring the Commons heathlands!

Thank you so much to everyone who contributed towards our
Big Give appeal.  In just two days we reached our target with £5,000 donated by Friends, visitors and supporters which was matched by the Big Give.

The Commons has the best Friends and we are feeling very lucky as a charity to have such generous supporters.

We can’t wait to show you the difference this funding will make to the work carried out by volunteers and staff as they carry out the labour intensive work of clearing scrub. Our aim is to continue restoring heathland that has been lost to woodland, but the dream would be to see the Dartford Warbler return to nest here!

With best wishes from all the staff and Conservators x

Why are we fundraising to restore the heathland habitats?

Heathland sites are now rare in London and declining nationally. Some of the largest remaining fragments in the capital can be found at Wimbledon Common and Putney Heath.  

Left unmanaged, the Commons’ heathland will gradually be lost to woodland and bracken. The lizards, birds and invertebrates that depend on it would lose the habitat they need to survive.

Without grazing, the continued survival of our heathland relies upon labour intensive management, with the work carried out by our staff and volunteers mimicking the actions of grazing cattle.

We can help protect the heathlands and ensure they are not lost from the Commons by helping to better equip the teams and help ensure their hard work has a lasting impact. With new specialist tools, we can better manage the scrub and permanently remove the invasive Turkey oak stumps and saplings which currently have to be constantly cut back.