How we're improving access to nature with Starling Bank

We estimate that more than a million people will be able to benefit from improved access to nature thanks to the partnership.

Starling Bank is supporting nature workshops for children and young people and funding vital conservation work to help halt the decline in wildlife and protect wild landscapes. They'll also continue to sponsor our family-focused Summer of Play programme that runs each summer, as they did during summer 2023 and 2024.

Starling customers can also benefit from free access passes to the places we look after through their refer-a-friend scheme.

Connecting children to nature

Starling is working with us to fund the Next Generation Nature Workshop programme for children and young people who would otherwise struggle to access outdoor spaces. These workshops provide opportunities for the young people to experience nature first-hand and learn about how we can protect wildlife and the environment.

The workshops are running at 19 hubs across England, Northern Ireland and Wales, including Gibside in Tyne & Wear, Mount Stewart in County Down and Erddig in Wrexham. So far, more than 8,200 children and young people across 292 visits have taken part in these workshops thanks to the funding from Starling.

After their visit, schools and community groups are also offered group membership, and individual return passes are given to the young people so they can visit their local National Trust space again in the future.

Protecting precious peatlands

Starling is providing additional funding to some of our ongoing peatland restoration projects. Thanks to their support, alongside our other local partners, we'll be able to restore approximately 400 hectares of peatland. Their generous donation will also help to fund research into a further 17,000 hectares of peatland, to find out if we can successfully restore these areas.

This funding is supporting conservation work in seven places, including Abergwesyn Common in Powys, Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire and various sites in the Lake District.

80 per cent of UK peatlands are in a degraded state but these hugely important environments provide a rich and diverse home to rare and threatened wildlife, represent one of our most important carbon stores, and play a vital role in water regulation and flood management.

Summer of Play

Each summer, more than 180 of the places we care for take part in Summer of Play, which is sponsored by Starling. Summer of Play encourages families of all ages to experience the houses, gardens and outdoor spaces we look after in new and exciting ways.

The activities on offer have a festival feel with designated areas for outdoor games and experiences. Kids and adults alike can let their imaginations run wild with costumes and role play, put their skills to the test with art and music activities, and give new (and old) sports a go with croquet, tennis and egg and spoon races.