The John Muir Trust

About the John Muir Trust

Statue of John Muir as a boy in Dunbar

The John Muir Trust is the leading wild land charity in the UK. We love wild places and are dedicated to protecting and improving them for people and wildlife. Over 10,000 members support us in our work. We take our name and inspiration from John Muir (1838-1914), the pioneering, influential Scots-born American conservationist who was passionate about the wild.


Muir dedicated his life to protecting wild places and he campaigned successfully for the establishment of National Parks to safeguard vast tracts of wild lands, including Yosemite Valley in California

The Trust was founded in 1983 to safeguard the future of wild lands against development and to promote awareness and recognition of the value of such places. We are achieving this through ownership of over 25,000 hectares of land with partnerships in a further 93,000 hectares.

The John Muir Trust educates people about the value of wild places through the John Muir Award. It was started in 1997 to offer people of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to learn about wild places. Through the four challenges of discover, explore, conserve and share and three progressive levels of involvement, it has so far helped over 100,000 people gain an appreciation of such places