1982 | We acquire Little Wittenham Wood and take our first employee, Robin Buxton. |
1984 | We acquire of the Wittenham Clumps and much of the surrounding farmland. |
1987 | Our farming operation and educational programme start |
1992 | We acquire College Farm and plant the first trees in Paradise Wood -a national research woodland - looking at broadleaved trees and climate change. |
1997 | Sustainable Farming Initiative is established. We trial innovative techniques including ‘beetle banks’, now commonly used across the UK. |
1998 | We finish planting the Broad Arboretum, named after the forester Ken Broad, which has every tree native to Oxfordshire. |
1999 | Wild Waste Show starts, delivering the waste reduction message to schools through the Wild Waste bus. |
2000 | We start managing three local Community Meadows: Wallingford Castle Meadows and Riverside Meadows in Wallingford, and Mowbray Fields in Didcot. |
2001 | Little Wittenham Wood receives SSSI and Special Area of Conservation status, establishing it as one of the most important sites for wildlife in Europe. |
2004 | We secure a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant and begin the renovation of derelict buildings at Hill Farm into a visitor centre complex.
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2006 | We move into our new environmentally friendly offices, built by volunteers. The building subsequently wins the 'Best in British Timber' award 2008.
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2007 | The new Visitor Centre (Earth Trust Centre) opens to the public, with
the Poem Tree cafe, Fison Barn and the Timescape Exhibition.
We hold the first Children’s Food Festival in Abingdon, with Raymond Banc and Sophie Grigson as Patrons and over 15,000 attendees.
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2008 | Energy Busters project starts, taking the message of saving energy to 15,000 school children each year. The Energy Bus is launched the following year. |
2009 | We start managing Thrupp Lake at Radley, one of the county’s top bird sites, with the help of RWE npower (who own the Lake) and the local community.
We hold the second Children’s Food Festival on our land at Little Wittenham.
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2010 | We acquire 500 acres of beautiful farmland adjacent to Little Wittenham Wood. We are now the proud owners of two and a half miles of Thames frontage. |
2011 | We change our name to the Earth Trust. |
2012
| Families flocked to our Lambing Weekends, run with Camilla and Roly, and we had more visitors than ever.
New ponds in Little Wittenham Woods created a perfect breeding habitat for Great Crested Newts. Restored steps and a new path through Beech Hangar in Little Wittenham Woods provides a new circular walk and makes the woodland more accessible. |