The National Trust Celebrates 125 Years of Natural Beauty

To celebrate its 125th anniversary, the National Trust is launching a year-long campaign to inspire and connect people to their natural environment and help face down the nature crisis.

Launching today (January 9th), a 75-second film invokes the words of co-founder Octavia Hill and recognises that the human need for nature is more vital than ever. Encouraging people to take a step back from the noise and stimulation of modern day living and find a sense of calm, the spot quotes Octavia from 1883: “We all want quiet. We all want beauty. We all need space.” The work will run across online, social and print.

The campaign, created with Wieden+Kennedy London, is part of the National Trust’s fresh ambition surrounding its 125th anniversary, which will see it becoming carbon neutral by 2030. Stepping up the battle against climate change, the organisation will plant 20 million trees over the next ten years, create green corridors for people and nature near towns and cities and drastically cut the Trust’s carbon footprint. 

The charity, which has more than 5.8 million members and almost 27 million annual visitors, will continue to connect people with nature and invest in arts and heritage.

Hilary McGrady, the National Trust’s director general, said: “For years the National Trust – its staff and volunteers - have been working to preserve and protect, to look after species in decline; to reintroduce species that we know are integral to caring for the natural world. Our next chapter will be about scaling this up. 

“It will also be about helping millions of people to reconnect with nature and galvanising them to fight with determination and care, to save our common treasures.”

Tony Davidson, executive creative director, Wieden+Kennedy London, commented: “The National Trust was founded 125 years ago to preserve and protect land and historic places, for everyone, forever. Since then, modern day living has made it increasingly difficult to connect to the environment.

“The quote from founder Octavia Hill, which runs through the work, reminds us how we all need nature and is still as pertinent today as it was all those years ago. We wanted to bring people a sense of calm and remind them how it feels to be at one with nature.”