The National Lottery Heritage Fund

HLF Visit at Holes Bay © Sally Welbourn

HLF Visit at Holes Bay © Sally Welbourn (L-R) Nicki Brunt (DWT), Katie Wilkinson (DWT), Rob Brunt (DWT), Heritage Minister John Glen, Stephen Boyce (HLF Chair South West Committee), Nigel Webb (DWT President), Brian Bleese (DWT Director of Operations), Sir Peter Luff ( Chair of the Natural Heritage Memorial Fund and HLF), Simon Cripps (DWT Chief Executive), Nicky Hoar (DWT Learning and Interpretation Officer), Andy Fale (DWT Urban Heaths Reserve Officer)

The National Lottery Heritage Fund

What is The National Lottery?

The National Lottery – and with it The National Lottery funding for good causes like heritage, arts, sport and charities – was established in 1994. Every ticket sold contributes funds to good causes across the UK.  The National Lottery funding through the The National Lottery Heritage Fund is one of most important sources of income for The Wildlife Trusts  and has helped us to achieve many amazing things for people and wildlife over the years.  

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest dedicated funder of heritage in the UK.  Since its creation in 1994, The Wildlife Trusts have worked closely with The National Lottery Heritage Fund to connect people to nature and each other, save precious wildlife-rich places, create new woodlands, wetlands, meadows and many other habitats and protect rare and endangered species. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has invested a total of £7.1bn in 40,000 heritage projects. The hundreds of Wildlife Trust projects across the UK supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund have benefited thousands of people from all walks of life – helping them to experience the joy of wildlife in their daily lives; from children and young people to older generations; from those living in urban areas to those in the countryside, or by the coast.

How The National Lottery Heritage Fund has helped Dorset Wildlife Trust transform places and lives

Since 1998, The National Lottery players have helped us deliver over a dozen amazing natural environment projects using money awarded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This support has made an enormous difference to natural heritage conservation in Dorset, and enabled us to turn many of its ambitious plans into reality.  Working alongside volunteers and partner organisations, we have been able to purchase land to create or extend nature reserves including at Winfrith Heath, Kingcombe, the Great Heath project in East Dorset and most recently the Wild Brownsea and Wild Paths projects.  We have been able to help people to reconnect with local wild places, and get involved so that they can experience the health and wellbeing benefits that contact with nature bring. 

Wild Paths Project

Wild Paths Project

The National Lottery Heritage Fund