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Snaizeholme appeal, North Yorkshire

We need your help to make Snaizeholme a bigger, better site.

Thanks to generous supporters, we secured Snaizeholme in 2020 and began restoring this extraordinary valley to what it would've looked like 500 years ago.

Now, we have an exciting opportunity to protect even more of this landscape. 

An additional 141 hectares of land, where red squirrels already roam and forage, has been secured. The total cost to buy the land and fund our ongoing restoration work is £4.86 million, and we must raise this within the next two years.

A sympathetic organisation has stepped in to purchase the land on our behalf. But if we fail to raise the money, the land will return to the open market and could be re-sold.  

That would put the long-term future of Snaizeholme, and everything we've achieved so far, at risk. We cannot let that happen. Will you help secure this landscape for wildlife? Donate today to protect and restore our largest site in England for wildlife to thrive. 

561 hectares

of land is safely in our care.

Our site has trebled in size since 2021.

141 hectares

of land newly secured.

Our vision is to restore it to a thriving woodland for rare species including red squirrel and black grouse.

£4.86 million

needs to be raised in two years.

A sympathetic organisation purchased the land on our behalf but we must repay them to keep the land protected.

Amazing things have been happening for nature at Snaizeholme since our supporters helped us to buy the site in 2020.

Here at Snaizeholme, we own and manage 561 hectares, which is approximately 1,400 acres. It’s actually the second largest Woodland Trust site in England. And it’s all about nature recovery and nature recovery at scale.

We have a variety of habitats across this landscape, so we have woodland creation that we’re looking at establishing on the slopes all around the valley. We’re also looking at peatland restoration. We’ve got about 90 hectares of deep peat that we’ve just finished a round of restoration work on. We still have riverside meadows that we still want to graze. However, we have removed sheep from the valley and we introduced native breed cattle. So the idea being that they can manage this ground more sensitively for conservation. 

We just worked with the Wild Trout Trust, where we have done work in the actual water courses where we’re trying to renaturalise some of them watercourses where they’ve had some human impact. So we’ve actually added things like woody debris into the rivers and tried to return walling stone from where it once came from.   

We pretty much control the whole catchment here which gives us that opportunity to have that impact. So yeah, it’s certainly something we do see as being quite an exciting part of the project.

Now, we have another fantastic opportunity to bring even more of this stunning Yorkshire valley into our expert care for wildlife, people and planet.

Even with this being the second largest site in England for the Woodland Trust, we’ve always known from the very beginning of our work here at Snaizeholme, there were opportunities to do more. 
With the sweeping valley that we have here, there are parts of it which we don’t own. We can do more for wildlife by acquiring small sections of open land, and quite large considerable commercial conifer blocks, which are here in the Snaizeholme valley. By acting now and taking these opportunities, we can do more for wildlife, we can do more for habitat restoration and we can have a bigger influence for people beyond the Snaizeholme valley.

But time is ticking. We urgently need to raise more than four million pounds to buy the extra land and continue restoring Snaizeholme into healthy habitats for species like the red squirrel, black grouse, oyster catcher and dipper.

Please help us continue bringing Snaizeholme back to life. Nature needs you and every donation makes a difference. Thank you.

Expanding Snaizeholme

The new land includes two large blocks of commercial conifer plantation and a wedge of hillside nestled between areas we already own. Originally planted in the 1980s and clearfelled in 2014, the conifer crops are now 10 years old.

With careful planting and restoration, Snaizeholme can become a rich mosaic of healthy habitats for native wildlife – thriving woodland, limestone pavement, riverside meadows and montane scrub. But this transformation can only happen if we raise the funds to protect the land.

Our plans for the newly purchased land

Red squirrels already move through these woods, so our restoration work will be carried out carefully over decades. 

Rather than clearfelling the plantations, we will maintain continuous canopy cover to ensure no vital habitat is lost. The existing timber will be allowed to mature before being gradually replaced with native broadleaf species. 

Over time, the woodland will develop a rich mix of tree species and ages – creating structural diversity that is vital for wildlife and increases resilience.

Our vision is simple: to grow a healthy and vibrant new woodland that gives red squirrels the best possible chance to thrive. 

Why this matters for red squirrels

Snaizeholme sits within the Yorkshire Dales National Park grey squirrel exclusion zone and is currently grey-free – something that is incredibly rare in England. 

This matters enormously for red squirrels. Greys pose a serious threat to our native reds, outcompeting them for food and carrying squirrelpox, a virus that is harmless to greys but fatal to reds. 

By managing woodland carefully, including prioritising tree species that support reds more strongly than greys, we are working to create a landscape where red squirrels can flourish long into the future. 

A transformation at Snaizeholme

We're incredibly proud of what we've achieved so far. It's wild and fantastic, and coming back to life before our eyes. 

Credit: Phil Formby / WTML

290 hectares of new woodland

When we first purchased Snaizeholme, it was an open landscape in an area of England where tree cover is less than 5%. Since then, we’ve planted 290 hectares with native trees. Blackthorn, birch, willow and alder are establishing a rich habitat for wildlife. These trees will help retain soil and water, reducing flood risk downstream in places such as York. Now that the initial tree planting is complete, our focus is on ensuring the young woodland grows healthy and strong. 

Credit: Paul Barker / WTML

81 hectares of peat bog restored

Once shrivelled and dry, the peat bog has been restored to healthy, waterlogged conditions. This vital habitat can act like a giant sponge, soaking up the two metres of rain Snaizeholme receives each year. Peatlands are powerful carbon sinks, locking away more carbon than they release and playing a crucial role in tackling climate change.

Credit: Alec Pue / WTML

A living laboratory

With 20 monitoring stations across the valley, scientists from the universities of Leeds and York are tracking the impact of our work on soil, water, climate and vegetation. We hope this research will help inform future land management practices, policies and guidance. 

Credit: Dennis Johnson / WTML

Wildlife returning

It’s not just red squirrels that call Snaizeholme home. Black grouse, another endangered species due to habitat loss, can be seen here. Direct interventions to the beck have improved the aquatic habitat for wildlife like the endangered white-clawed crawfish and a range of water-loving birds like oystercatcher, sandpiper, dipper and snipe. Across the site, barn owls, little owls and tawny owls hunt, while curlew and ravens soar overhead. By extending Snaizeholme, we can create even more habitat for these iconic UK species. 

Credit: Alec Pue / WTML

From sheep to cows

We have significantly reduced sheep numbers and introduced native Hereford cattle to continue the area’s traditional farming practices. Herefords are well-suited to the environment, they’re hardy in harsh weather and leave rougher vegetation as they graze, which improves water retention and supports regeneration. This, in turn, benefits invertebrates and wider wildlife. Our aim is to show that conservation and farming can work together – supporting habitats, livelihoods and local communities. 

Donate today to protect Snaizeholme's future

We have already achieved so much at Snaizeholme over the past five years, thanks to all the incredible support. But this new opportunity could transform the valley – creating a connected landscape where red squirrels and other wildlife can thrive. 

We have just two years to raise £4.86 million. If we fail, it could return to the open market and be purchased by someone less sympathetic to our long-term vision for Snaizeholme. 

Every gift, large or small, brings us closer to protecting Snaizeholme for wildlife, people and future generations. Please donate today and help safeguard Snaizeholme. 

Prefer to donate offline?

By phone

Call us on 0330 333 3300 between 8.30am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, and our friendly team will be there to assist.

By post

Send a cheque to our head office at Snaizeholme Appeal, Woodland Trust, Kempton Way, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 6LL. Please make cheques payable to the Woodland Trust. 

Snaizeholme is a flagship woodland creation project for the White Rose Forest, the Community Forest for North and West Yorkshire and the Northern Forest, a partnership between the Woodland Trust and some of the Community Forests in the north of England. The trees, fencing and planting at Snaizeholme have been supported by the White Rose Forest through the Trees for Climate programme, funded by the UK Government. 

See where your donations have already made a difference

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