In 2010, our founders, business-man Christopher and Consultant Surgeon Helen Neave decided enough was enough! They were concerned at hearing over and over again that hedgehogs, bees and butterflies were struggling. They had worried about the state of nature for long enough … now was the time to actually do something!
So they bought a 26 acre field, as a family project, to ‘give back to nature’. After seeking expert advice, they planted 20,000 trees, sowed wildflower seeds, dug ten ponds and put up bird and bat boxes. Helen and Chris and their family and friends spent many weekends tending to the trees.
In the summer of 2017, they were having their picnic after a morning’s work; bees, butterflies and birdsong filled the air; hare and deer ran across the clearing. They realised they had done something special, and decided to do it again …
and Make It Wild was born! The short film above explains it all!
Our mission statement is:
Our number one purpose is to support biodiversity, through habitat creation and restoration.
A close second, is to encourage others to share our love and enthusiasm for nature.
Our main way of working with businesses is through tree planting. This might be for carbon-offsetting, or simply for the satisfaction of planting a dedicated woodland.
We also offer team conservation days in summer, and tree planting days in winter. You can use our gorgeous off grid barn for an away day, and maybe enjoy a woodland experience while you’re with us.
With your help we have planted thousands of trees, dug ponds, restored wildflower hay meadows, protected ancient woodland and created many different habitats across our ten sites across North Yorkshire. We were in the news for planting our 25,000th tree in 2019. By March 2024 we had planted our 80,000th tree. This page shows you our tree planting numbers by site.
We are growing through a network of partner sites, aiming to spread our brand UK wide.
At Wilsill Memorial Woodland, we plant our very special memorial trees – incorporating the cremation ashes of passed loved ones. You can read more here.
If you want to immerse yourself in nature, you can sleep right next to our land in glorious Nidderdale. Read more about our luxury ecofriendly holiday cottage, Heather Lea, here.
You can enjoy a deeper connection to nature on one of our Natural Mindfulness Walks.
If you love nature, how about volunteering with us? It is a great way to spend time in the wonderful out-doors with like-minded people.
Since 2004, our founders have been personally committed to supporting charities which protect the rain forest.
Their annual contributions to Rain Forest Concern now protect in excess of 500 acres.
More recently, they have also supported the Rain Forest Trust. Through donations for special family events, they now protect nearly 73,000 acres! It was a natural progression, therefore for Make it Wild also to support this charity. In 2024, we became corporate member of Rainforest Trust UK’s Conservation Circle. We are specifically supporting the protection of a corridor for orangutans in Indonesia.
Our work aligns to the following three SDGs
We are delighted to have been featured in:
BBC’s “Escape to the Country”,
The Times,
Yorkshire Life,
The Yorkshire Post,
The Woodland Trust’s “Broadleaf”
and many other podcasts and publications.
We are honoured to have won numerous business awards, and thrilled to be Regional Winners in the ‘Green’ category of the BBC Making a Difference Awards.
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It's when I listen to the silence that I hear what the world is saying
Anthony T. Hincks