Our Future

Some of you may know that the building we currently rent is likely to be put up for sale. This is on our minds every day and the Trustees are working hard, behind the scenes, to look at different options and what it means for our next phase of development. As soon as we know our plans, we will share them. We definitely need your help. We are hoping to have news of the timeline soon. It's an unsettling time for all of us.

This important news has not only helped us reflect on what's next, but where we came from. Here's the story of how we came to be, in the words of Jane Carpenter, our Co-Founder:

Craven Wildlife Rescue in its current form, was started by artist Penny Hunt and I (both of us holding down full time jobs) with others, no longer involved, but who have played a major and positive part in where we are now. We have grown in ways we couldn't have imagined or predicted. We began in 2019, initially as a hub-based hedgehog rescue, with a few individuals taking in and caring for hedgehogs in their own spaces, with the help and support of local vets and experts from Yorkshire Hedgehogs. We outgrew our homes and spaces, and realised that this was something we needed to develop in a more streamlined, organised and professional way, especially as we were being asked to help with many different species. We love a challenge, but we realised we needed to be under one roof and needed to welcome more people into our team, to grow and develop to care for our patients and learn how to care for others.

Please remember, we are, and have always been a growing bunch of passionate, unpaid volunteers who want to help our local wildlife, doing so in between our work and home life. If we analysed why we do it, we would probably stop, so we never think about that! We came up with the idea of trying to find a location to be under one roof. We asked if we could rent some space at the closed (for eight years) and unused Horton in Ribblesdale Primary School. It was agreed, and we took over a classroom and the playground. We cleaned the building up and did what we could to make it practical for us. Our supporters kindly donated sheds and second hand white goods, and a host of other things. There is no water in half of the building, no heating and no hot water, but we plumbed in dishwashers and washing machines and we have made the space work. We did this alongside caring for the wildlife and starting to raise funds, now that we could no longer just fund it ourselves.

One of our original Trustees felt that we should develop as a charity. This is no easy feat, but she made an exemplary application and we were accepted first time round. The charity status we gained in 2024 is now helping us apply for grants for vital equipment, and it is a secure platform from which we can raise funds.

We have been at Horton for just over a year and a half. We currently have 40 regular volunteers, six Trustees, a volunteer vet, a volunteer accountant and an extra group of wonderful transport volunteers. To run, as we are, requires a huge amount of behind-the-scenes administrative work. We have strict work to comply with the Charity Commission rules, as well as the British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council regulations, insurance conditions as well the all the standard operating procedures we run to. We also deliver talks and education to local groups and we induct and train our volunteers.

We believe that CWR is important and we have rescued, rehabilitated and released nearly 2,000 wild animals since 2019, many red listed and in danger of extinction. We work with organisations including the RSPCA, and other rescues and mentors all over the country.

We moved into the school as a blank canvas, but our short time here has shown that we absolutely need a future home and base with security. We want to grow as a community venture with our growing team of volunteers. We would love to develop some self sufficiency to raise our own funds in addition to the donations we rely on. We want to deliver more educational engagement with children and young people. We already have great links with some university students who we have enabled to experience wildlife rehabilitation and also filmmaking opportunities to name a couple of subjects we have already helped with.

This article explains the current status of the school, and our future is now uncertain. We are exploring ways to keep doing what we do. We don't know how that is going to look, but we are working hard to plan our future.

This is a challenging time for us. If you feel you can help us with a donation, however small, please donate here. If you are a company wanting to sponsor our next phase, we would love to hear from you. And if you are a professional - tradesmen or otherwise - and want to donate your time and expertise, our door is always open. We will send another update as soon as we can.