Heal Rewilding Receives Garfield Weston Foundation Grant to Boost Nature and Communities
By Conservation Correspondent
Heal Rewilding has received a generous grant from the Garfield Weston Foundation, giving a big boost to the charity’s work helping nature, tackling climate change, and supporting wellbeing.
The funding will let Heal expand its projects across England, bringing degraded landscapes back to life while strengthening the connection between people, wildlife, and the places we live.
Heal is taking hands-on action to tackle the climate and ecological crises, helping wildlife thrive and ecosystems recover.
The grant will also support Heal’s work with local communities, helping people feel healthier and happier through meaningful time in nature.
At the heart of everything Heal does is helping people connect with the natural world – to learn, heal, share, and inspire others to take action locally, nationally, and beyond.
The Garfield Weston Foundation is a family-run charity that supports organisations across the UK making a real difference in their communities.
Set up in 1958 by W. Garfield Weston with shares from the family business (now Associated British Foods plc), the Foundation is still guided by the Weston family. The Trustees, all direct descendants of the founder, play an active role in its work.
This approach has helped the Foundation grow alongside the family businesses, allowing it to give almost £1.7 billion in grants since it started. In 2024-2025 alone, it gave nearly £130 million to 2,967 charities.
For Heal Rewilding, this grant is an exciting step forward as the charity works to set up more rewilding sites across England.
Each site offers a safe haven for nature and benefits local communities, including creating jobs and attracting investment. Heal’s second site will be in the north of England.
Sarah Winchester, Director of Heal Rewilding, said:
“This generous support from the Garfield Weston Foundation will enable us to build lasting momentum for nature recovery. We have already witnessed remarkable and heartening successes at our pilot site, Heal Somerset, both in terms of biodiversity and community engagement and this funding will help us to advance our mission further. We are incredibly grateful for the confidence and belief that the Foundation shows in Heal.”
