{"id":44259,"date":"2025-10-03T16:56:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=44259"},"modified":"2025-10-03T16:56:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:56:50","slug":"surge-in-18-25-year-old-new-members-as-national-trust-annual-report-reveals-growth-of-39","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=44259","title":{"rendered":"Surge in 18\u201325-year-old new members as National Trust annual report reveals growth of 39%"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The number of new 18\u201325-year-olds choosing to join the National Trust grew 39% in the last year, the charity\u2019s annual report, has revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The National Trust writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young persons\u2019 membership has experienced a surge over the last financial year (March 2024 \u2013 February 2025), with over 40,000 new members, suggesting young people are prepared to spend their money and time on immersion in nature, history and beautiful surroundings. Initial insight from the current financial year shows that this trend is set to continue. Overall, young membership of the National Trust has continued to grow, increasing by 16% from start of March to end of July 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hilary McGrady, Director-General of the National Trust said: \u2018It\u2019s heartening and humbling to see more young people choosing to become National Trust members, despite the financial pressures faced by so many. This generation cares deeply about nature and their heritage, and their support give us real hope for the future. We want the National Trust to be here for future generations. We\u2019re working hard to meet the needs of younger and newer audiences – whether it\u2019s a place to recharge, connect with nature, explore heritage, or take action on the climate and biodiversity crises.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent research has demonstrated that young people\u2019s interest in history and heritage is as strong, if not stronger, than older adults. A research report by the National Trust and Public First, released in May, showed the deep cultural and emotional connection people across the UK have with their historic landmarks. In-person experiences such as visiting heritage sites and participating in local events, were cited as being crucial for learning about and engaging with local history. Notably, younger people (aged 18-44) were more likely to visit heritage sites, landscape, and culture than older generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research carried out by Historic Houses around the same time confirmed that a majority of today\u2019s young people are interested in visiting historic sites. It also found that cost and getting there are the biggest barriers to doing so: 58% cited high entry fees as their reason for not visiting. However, the growth in young person\u2019s membership at the National Trust demonstrates that young people are prepared to spend money on visiting green spaces and historic places when they can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of nature and time spent outside in green spaces to people\u2019s physical and mental health is well-documented. Mya-Rose Craig one of the National Trust\u2019s Ambassadors, is a 23-year-old British-Bangladeshi birder, conservationist and environmentalist. Mya-Rose said: \u2018It\u2019s wonderful to see more young people joining the National Trust. Nature has always been a huge part of my life, and I know how powerful it can be \u2013 whether it helps you feel grounded, inspired, or simply gives you space to breathe. Seeing more young people choosing to connect with nature and heritage in this way gives me real hope for the future. It shows they care, and that they want to help protect these places for everyone.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Trust\u2019s Regeneration Challenge group is the charity\u2019s youth network, made up of staff and volunteers aged 16\u201330. The network acts as the voice of young people in the in the charity and collaborates with like-minded organisations to ensure they\u2019re represented within the wider sector. Corinne Whiteley and Lillie Mason, Co-Chairs of the National Trust\u2019s Re-Generation Challenge Group said: \u2018It\u2019s clear that today\u2019s young people are passionate about the natural world and our shared history. Life and our future feel fragile \u2013 growing pressures from the cost-of-living crisis, climate anxiety and the influence of social media \u2013 but nature and heritage spaces bring a sense of calm, safety and connection. Conservation charities like the National Trust are uniquely placed to provide those spaces. Through greater collaboration with and representation of young people in our work, we are seeing our charitable purpose resonate more and more with our generation, which is fantastic to see.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young persons membership at the National Trust costs \u00a34 a month or \u00a348 a year. Currently, new young members choosing to pay by annual Direct Debit can bring a friend for free for one of their visits. Overall, visitors to pay-for-entry places in the National Trust\u2019s care grew by 2% year-on-year compared with the previous financial year. Membership held relatively stable at 5.35 million (compared with 5.38 million in 2023-24) whereas paying visitor figures increased by 5%, continuing a trend seen last year, where cost pressures meant that visitors were more likely to \u2018pay on the day\u2019. More details on the charity\u2019s 2024-25 financial year can be found in the National Trust\u2019s Annual Report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more….<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The number of new 18\u201325-year-olds choosing to join the National Trust grew 39% in the last year, the charity\u2019s annual report, has revealed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[58,18,30,29,316,540],"class_list":["post-44259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog","tag-charity","tag-conservation","tag-environment","tag-heritage","tag-membership","tag-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44259"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44260,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44259\/revisions\/44260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}