£30 million (about $41 million) raised, one great estate saved: the public buys Rothbury for nature

One of England's most ambitious nature recoveries can now go ahead. After a two-year appeal, the Wildlife Trusts have raised £30 million (about $41 million) to buy the Rothbury Estate in Northumberland — more than 3,800 hectares, an area the size of Athens and the largest single-ownership land sale in England in over 30 years. About 25,000 members of the public gave £17 million (about $23 million) between them; the government added a final £1.94 million (about $2.6 million) this week. Sir David Attenborough, who championed the bid, thanked the public for answering the call in their thousands. The trusts plan to restore habitats for mountain bumblebees, red squirrels, water voles and curlews — and to keep the estate genuinely welcoming to the people who paid for it.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: funding & finance