To many, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is synonymous with Attenborough Nature Reserve, its best known site and the site that helped spark the formation of the charity.
Lots of exciting changes have been taking place in the Nature Centre at the much loved reserve this year, not least in terms of new products in the shop. The Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s Retail Manager Kate Raynor has been working hard to refresh the product range and to build links with local suppliers, increasing the number of sustainably sourced lines.
As part of this transformation, much of the shop’s produce is now local, including Wollaton Honey from local honeybees, and flour from a local windmill. As a local based charity, the Trust is keen to support local businesses and as an environmental charity it is also working to reduce the environmental impact of its range.
With an increase in conferences and events at Attenborough Nature Centre, Kate felt a local wine would provide a great finishing touch to the range and was delighted to team up with Weavers Wines, a business with 170 years trading in Nottingham, to source a new range of sustainable wines.
The range of four wines – a White Zinfandel, a Merlot, a Sauvignon Blanc and a Prosecco all have a fascinating story, and each is sustainably bottled in the UK, using renewable energy.
To mark the 60th Anniversary of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, the county’s largest locally based environmental charity – which now cares for 43 nature reserves covering over 1,300 hectares – the idea was born to make a special limited edition celebration label. 
When it came to choosing designs for the labels the Trust turned to longstanding supporter and artist Paul Dyson – who has been exhibiting paintings at the Nature Centre since its opening in 2005 to raise funds for the charity.
Speaking about the new collaboration with the range of ‘Reserve’ wines Paul said: “Having such a long and close relationship with the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and Attenborough Nature Reserve, I was thrilled for my wildlife art to be used to enhance the celebration wine bottles. I
have been visiting Attenborough for at least 60 years with fond memories of wonderful wildlife experiences. Later on, I was interested in the plans for the centre and my first exhibition was during the Sir David Attenborough opening ceremony.
“It has been a pleasure to visit and exhibit ever since and meet like minded people. It is a joy to share my love on nature and the importance of protecting wild places in Nottinghamshire.”
So next time you visit the reserve, be sure to pop in and check out the new limited edition range.