In 1985, five years after Avon Wildlife Trust launched as one of Britain’s first urban Wildlife Trusts, the Trust moved to a bigger headquarters office, an old police building on Jacobs Well Road in the centre of Bristol – where it remained for almost 30 years. 

It was this same year that Sir David Attenborough became the Chairman of the British Wildlife Appeal, and commenced on a 14-day nationwide tour of 12 Wildlife Trusts, including Avon. While being hosted by Avon Wildlife Trust, Sir David delivered his Travels of a Naturalist talk in Colston Hall (now known as the Bristol Beacon), where the box office and other sales through his visit raised £1,392 for the Trust.

Before the lecture, Sir David spent the afternoon with us, and his first task was to officially open the new headquarters building. After an introductory speech from our President at the time, Derek Jones, Sir David unfurled a bright, voluminous flag in the courtyard, proudly displaying the Trust’s name. Sir David went on to impress the audience present with a heartwarming message, praising the work of Avon Wildlife Trust.

As the headquarters building was right next to one of Avon Wildlife Trust’s urban nature reserves, Brandon Hill, Sir David went on to undertake a number of tasks at the site. This included a ceremonial planting of a Bristol whitebeam tree and flinging the first bucket of earth onto the lining of a newly excavated pond. 

While at the reserve, he met a local school group planting the following year’s food plants in the butterfly garden. He joined the children in a food web game, led by Trust staff member Pippa Wolf, Warden of Willsbridge Mill. Sir David took on the role of an oak tree, and attracted many species of both plant and animal, symbolizing the complex food web the oak sustains. The game culminated in the felling of the oak, but luckily Sir David was unscathed and able to continue with the rest of his visit.

The next stop on his tour was Willsbridge Mill, escorted by Pippa and site warden Robin Gilbert. Sir David was enthused to hear about the wildlife this urban fringe reserve holds, which he later referred to in his lecture, reveling in Willsbridge Valley’s special occupants – the dipper and greater horseshoe bat colony. After a comprehensive tour of the site and its buildings, he went on to a drinks reception attended by local councilors and businessmen, before delivering his lecture.

When this visit was later written about in the Trust’s 1985 Winter magazine, Ruth Worsley concluded: “As Sir David made it very plane in his lecture that evening at the Colston Hall, we need to act quickly to stem the devastation and destruction of so much that is precious… tomorrow is too late.”

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We would like to wish Sir David Attenborough a very happy 100th birthday, and to thank him for all that he continues to do to champion our natural world and native wildlife.