Celebrating Nick Brown's Legacy

Our founder, Nick Brown recently resigned as a trustee of Derbyshire Swift Conservation after 12 years of tireless work conserving Swifts both nationally and across the county. We spoke to him recently to find out how it all started…

Nick started the Derbyshire Swift Conservation Project in 2014 having been inspired by Edward Mayer's website, Dick Newell's blog and what was happening in other counties as new local Swift groups began to form throughout the UK.

His objective was to raise the profile of Swifts across Derbyshire and at that time he was still a Derbyshire Wildlife Trust staff member and had access to Trust resources and staff. He gradually managed to raise awareness of Swifts by writing Trust blogs, doing radio interviews, writing articles for local papers and giving talks. Nick also engaged the Trust's Planning Team, trying to ensure mitigation for any buildings which had Swifts nesting and commenting on planning applications where Swifts would either be harmed or simply not catered for in new builds. 

He started to write 'Swift Update' emails, sending them to anyone who showed interest and ending up writing a total of 200 over the years, sending them to a mailing list of over 350 people.

As Nick became better known as the primary contact for Swifts, he dealt with many requests for nest boxes, buying them in bulk and selling them at talks and events. He also became the initial contact for when Swift nest holes were blocked by renovation work, often by councils, and has had his fair share of battles resulting in scaffolding being taken down and work rescheduled. 

Nick joined the national Swift Local Network (SLN) and in 2018 came up with the idea of holding an annual week of events and the first Swift Awareness Week (SAW) was born. Local Swift groups responded enthusiastically, and some 80 events were organised from Aberdeen to Devon. The Guardian ran an article, Chris Packham and BBC Wildlife magazine promoted the events, amd Birdguides and Bird Watching Magazine also covered the story.

SAW is now an annual event which Nick continues to organise and coordinate to this day. Although Covid put a temporary dampener on group activities, SAW has now regained its earlier popularity and over 100 events were logged in 2025. Building on his experience, extensive contact list, knowledge and a never faltering passion for Swifts, in 2024 Derbyshire Swift Conservation Project registered as a charity, appointing Nick as a trustee, and went on to win what was then the biggest grant awarded by the National Lottery to a Swift group. 

Nick’s legacy is assured, as the conservation of Swifts is now a high-profile activity across the UK, SAW is more popular than ever and the public are now engaged with Swifts to an extent that would never have seemed possible 10 years ago. All of us who have an interest in Swift conservation owe a huge debt of gratitude to Nick Brown for his unwavering efforts in bringing the plight of Swifts to the attention of so many people.  

Find out what's on in Derbyshire for Swift Awareness Week 2026 at: https://derbyshireswiftconservation.org/news/swift-awareness-week