Take action today, stand up for nature
We need your help. If you’re concerned about the decline in nature and, like us, are worried that Government isn’t taking this seriously enough, please contact your local MLAs using our template letter.
Nature = Future NI
Take a stand for nature by adding your voice to our campaign and writing to your local MLAs in Northern Ireland.
Get involved
We need your help. If you’re concerned about the decline in nature and, like us, are worried that Government isn’t taking this seriously enough, please contact your local MLAs using our template letter.
Together, we want to show NI’s Assembly and Executive that nature is not a nice-to-have but essential for our society’s future. When we restore, protect and invest in nature, we create healthier communities, stronger local economies and a better quality of life for everyone.
A shared love of nature
Research confirms that the UK public loves nature. According to new polling gathered by independent research agency More in Common for the National Trust, nature and the countryside are the second biggest source of pride, after the NHS.
The survey also found that only one fifth of people think the Government’s care towards restoring nature is in line with their own, and 6 in 10 think the Government cares less about nature than they do personally.
“Our shared love of nature is a major source of pride and a unifier. Our research shows that wanting to restore nature is the mainstream view: it is the Government that is out of step”
A quote by Heather McLachlanNational Trust NI Director for Northern Ireland
What we are calling for
1. Restore nature now
Set legal targets that make nature recovery a commitment across the whole of government. Including creating more spaces for nature and paying farmers properly to restore habitats, improve soil health, protect rivers and produce food sustainably.
2. Protect and invest in wildlife
Give key landscapes and waterways protection as essential regional assets and put in place an independent Environmental Protection Agency for better governance. Mobilise the funding, skills and evidence needed for nature recovery.
3. Resilient futures for communities
Ensure every community has access to nature rich greenspaces and design nature into every new housing development.
It’s time to decide. Will we create a thriving world? It is time for the NI Government to do the right thing. To plan a future where people and nature thrive. To protect wildlife and support communities.
How bad is the situation?
Northern Ireland is facing a nature and water crisis. We are among the most nature‑depleted places in the world, with wildlife in steep decline with once common species like hedgehogs and red squirrels now a rare sight. Less than a third of rivers and lakes here are in good ecological health. Nowhere is this crisis clearer than at Lough Neagh, where the UK and Ireland’s largest freshwater lake is repeatedly blanketed by toxic blue‑green algae, and has become a symbol of environmental failure.
“It’s time politicians listened to the electorate and started to implement change. Clean rivers and seas, natural places for children to play and healthy local food are all within grasp with the right political action”
A quote by Hilary McGradyNational Trust Director-General