The UK’s wildlife is amazing – but it’s in crisis. We’re now one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and in the bottom 10% of countries globally when it comes to protecting the biodiversity we have left.
Forty million birds have vanished from our skies in the last 50 years, 97% of our wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s, and a quarter of all our mammals are at risk of extinction.
Time has almost run out, but we have just enough of the natural world left to help it recover. We know what we need to do – and everyone has a part to play.
The BBC TV series Wild Isles has brought UK nature to our screens with more drama, beauty and spectacle than we’ve ever seen before. As its host, Sir David Attenborough, says: “Our nature rivals anything globally”.
That’s why it’s our responsibility to make sure this isn’t the last chance to see our beautiful and fragile nature. In Sir David’s words: “If we want to be the first generation to pass on our wild isles in a better state than we inherited them, we must act now.”
© NATUREPL.COM / PAUL HARRIS / 2020VISION
Nature underpins everything that makes our lives possible. It’s our life-support system. So, as part of the new Save Our Wild Isles campaign, we’re joining our charity partners at the RSPB and the National Trust to ask governments, businesses and individuals to all take action. We’re demanding that…
• Our leaders come together immediately and implement a crisis response plan across all four nations, that will deliver faster on the promises they’ve made to halt the destruction of nature and speed its recovery.
• Businesses put nature at the heart of every boardroom decision. Companies must publish their plans to become ‘nature positive’, just as many have for net zero.
• We must all act now for nature: making space for it, helping it in our everyday lives, and speaking up on its behalf. If enough of us demonstrate a love for nature that’s impossible to ignore, our leaders will listen and act.
It’s a huge challenge, and we need to act fast, but there is hope. The science is clear about what we need to do. There are already amazing people transforming farms, businesses, urban spaces, transport networks, energy and supply chains, and creating communities for nature. We just need everyone to play their part, so there’s more of it.
Do three things: Help Save Our Wild Isles
Take everyday action: Take simple but meaningful steps to help protect nature, such as planting wildflower seeds in your garden or windowbox, or eating less meat.
Go wild: Help nature recover by making your community and its shared spaces wilder – volunteer for local tree planting, or create an orchard in a local park.
Speak up for nature: Sign the People’s Plan for Nature today to add your voice to ours.
Save our wild isles and our air will be cleaner and safer. Meadows will be full of butterflies and bees, helping our farmers to produce healthy food. Rivers will be clean, coastland will thrive.
Our towns and cities, too, will be full of trees and birdsong and will be bursting with life. And nature will play its fullest role in helping us tackle the climate emergency.
When nature thrives, so do we – our health, our wellbeing, our economy. A thriving natural world means a better future for all of us. Love nature and act now to help Save Our Wild Isles.
Help Save Our Wild Isles
Visit the Save Our Wild Isles site now to find out how you can help, add your voice to the People’s Plan for Nature and make sure nature has a future in the UK.
More to explore
Farming for nature
Decades of intensive agriculture have transformed the UK’s landscape. Our once-rich soils have been degraded, and wildlife and habitats have declined. So we’re backing farmers in a shift to restore nature and tackle climate change by repairing our broken food system
