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Find out how you can help save nature by visiting the Save Our Wild Isles website.
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National Trust, RSPB and WWF join forces to save UK nature
- Published:
- 13 March 2023
- Last updated:
- 29 November 2023
We're urging everyone to help us stop the destruction of nature in the UK with the launch of Save Our Wild Isles, a joint campaign with charities RSPB and WWF. A new documentary, Saving Our Wild Isles, looks at the practical and urgent actions needed to save nature. Find out what you can do to help.
Save Our Wild Isles is the first major campaign the three charities have done together. It was launched after the opening episode of the BBC's Wild Isles series narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
Nature documentary calls for change
The Saving Our Wild Isles documentary, commissioned by RSPB, WWF and the National Trust, explores why UK nature is now at breaking point and what can be done to save it. Available on BBC iPlayer from 9 April, the film includes stark warnings about the nature crisis from Sir David.
'In this film, we'll meet inspiring people, young and old, who are working to restore the natural world. And we will discover that we all need to urgently repair our relationship with the natural world. We now have a few short years during which we can still make a choice. Where just enough remains of the natural world for it to recover. This ends and starts with us,' he said.
Nature-friendly farming, biodiversity loss, tree planting and urban birdwatching are among the topics covered in the documentary.
Young Voices for Nature
The three charities are also working with young people across the UK to tell stories about what they are doing to save nature. The project, Young Voices for Nature, has led to the creation of Our Beautiful Wild – a 20-minute film about the actions young people are taking and their vision for the future.
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Video
Trailer for Our Beautiful Wild
This film brings together ideas and stories about saving wildlife and nature from more than 200 young people. You’ll also find out how to host your own screening of the film and talk to your family and local MP about nature.
I am hopeful for the future, because although nature is in crisis, now is the time for action, and together we can save it.
A quote by Sir David Attenborough WWF Ambassador
Collective action is needed
In a joint statement, Hilary McGrady, Director-General of the National Trust, Beccy Speight, Chief Executive of the RSPB and Tanya Steele, CEO of WWF (UK), said: 'The amazing wildlife and wild places that make the UK so special are being destroyed at terrifying speed.
'Huge numbers of animals, birds and habitats have been quite literally wiped out in our own lifetimes and we must now accept that without urgent and collective action, our economy, the climate and the stability of future generations living in our wild isles all face a ticking timebomb.
'Nature underpins everything that makes our lives possible – from the air we breathe, to the clean water we drink, to the food we eat. It is our life-support system, and it’s clear that nature’s recovery, and the desire to reverse the harm we have inflicted over the last two centuries, are issues that unite us all.'
In the UK:
38 million
birds have disappeared in the past 50 years
One in four
mammals are at risk of extinction
97 per cent
of wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s
Why nature needs our help
The UK is home to some of the world's most unique wildlife, including puffins, orcas, beavers and ancient oak trees but we're pushing nature to the brink. In fact, the UK is in the bottom 10 per cent of countries globally for protecting nature.
The nature crisis and climate change are two sides of the same coin. Protecting nature is key to stopping the destruction of the world we live in and our way of life.
According to the UN Environment Programme, there are just seven years left to halt and reverse the loss of our natural world, and global commitments were made at COP15 to meet this deadline.
There's just enough of the UK’s natural world left to save. If the public, communities, businesses and leaders all urgently act and work together to help nature recover it can begin to thrive again within the next few decades.
How we're helping
Save Our Wild Isles will see the three charities engage hundreds of businesses and thousands of employees on the impact that business plays in the fate of nature in the UK. They'll be provided with the tools and guidance they need to take positive action.
We're also urging leaders and businesses to introduce a crisis response to the nature emergency, building on the promises they’ve made to halt the destruction of nature and speed up its recovery.
The campaign will also inspire and empower people and communities to play an active role in restoring nature near them. We'll be working with partners and celebrity ambassadors to encourage everyone to play their part.
How you can help
According to a YouGov poll commissioned for the campaign, 76 per cent of people in the UK are worried about the state of nature, but together we can make a difference.
We're encouraging communities across the UK to show their love of nature by committing to ‘go wild once a week’. This could mean making space for nature by planting pollinator-friendly wildflower seeds in a window box or green space, or getting involved with community projects, such as planting orchards in your local area.
Together, we can all make a difference.
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