“My wife loved nature and this planet”

“After my wife Diane died, my son Solo and I both agreed we’d like to leave a legacy to WWF in his mother’s name,“ says Jon. ”Initially, it was my suggestion that, should anything happen to both of us, we could make provisions for our family and leave the rest to WWF. We agreed a figure between us should I go first.

“We all love nature, but Diane was passionate about it. She’d been captivated by animals since she was a child – she even kept all of her childhood books about exotic animals. She loved all wildlife (though she wasn’t too keen on ticks!). And she worked at a veterinary surgery as an administrator.

“Throughout her life, Diane donated small amounts of money to various animal charities, and she adopted an animal with WWF.

“In our late twenties, we went on safari to Kenya. At the time, she couldn’t swim but she was determined to snorkel over the coral reefs to get close to marine life, such as moray eels. There was only one way she could do that, so she learned to swim. She had that kind of determination.

“When we were younger, she was mad about orangutans and other great apes. We’d always planned to go to Asia to see orangutans and tigers, but it never happened. Now I’m planning to go there with my son.

”My wife loved nature and this planet and lived her life doing all she could to protect it. It always felt right to me that we should give to WWF, because its work feels all-encompassing. I looked online about leaving a donation, but what I was planning was much more than a donation and I wanted to speak to someone and have a contact.

“I’m so glad we spoke to the WWF legacy team. They offered suggestions about what our gift might fund, and one option was to support a long-term project. I’d like my wife’s name associated with a project so that she’s remembered in some way.

”If our gift can help protect endangered animals and put right some of the wrongs that humans have done, then that gives me comfort. I like to think that, somewhere in a far-flung corner of the world, someone will say, ‘I wonder who Diane was.’”

BANNER IMAGE: © NATUREPL.COM / ANDY ROUSE / WWF