-
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
Started by Sir Peter Scott, the WWT does amazing work to preserve vital habitat for wetland birds all over the world. There are a number of WWT centres around Britain, including the London Wetlands Centre, where Simon King was based for Springwatch and Martin Mere in Lancashire, where Bill Oddie and I spent many a happy hour for Autumnwatch. They are great places for people of any age to learn about and see some of the world's most spectacular birds. Joining the WWT gets you in to all the centres around Britain. You can also adopt-a-bird. A great present!
-
Marine Conservation Society
The Marine Conservation Society does fantastic work. They run all sorts of projects, from beach clean-ups to lobbying the government for more, much-needed, marine reserves. Seasearch is a part of the MCS, providing training for SCUBA divers who want to take part in monitoring Britain's marine life. Anyone who treasures our coastline, our beaches and our marine life can help make a huge difference. Find out more on the website!
-
The Wildlife Trusts
The Wildlife Trusts manage over 2,000 nature reserves all over the country, preserving vital habitat for our wildlife. Some are in the countryside, but they also have many reserves in urban areas. They run fascinating volunteer programmes for people of all ages to get involved in looking after our natural heritage. Go on the web to find your local Wildlife Trust and join in!
-
RSPB - The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
One of our best known national institutions, working tirelessly to protect endangered birds and their habitats, not just in Britain, but worldwide. The sea eagles on Mull, which both Simon King and I have spent many hours with, were re-introduced and are carefully monitored by the RSPB. Visit an RSPB reserve and you'll have the best chance to see some of our rarest or more unusual birds. The website is also a mine of information on how to best look after the birds in your garden. Well worth checking out!
-
The Shark Trust
One of the most unforgettable encounters I have ever had with a wild animal was swimming with a basking shark off the outer Hebrides. Basking sharks were almost hunted to extinction, but are now protected. Unfortunately this isn't the case with all sharks and we are in real danger of losing some of the ocean's most spectacular and important animals. The Shark Trust promotes the study, management and conservation of sharks, skates and rays to help ensure their future survival. Go onto the website to find out about the Great Eggcase Hunt, and help the Trust find out more about the shark, skate and ray populations around our coast.
-
The Seahorse Trust
Yes, there are seahorses living in the sea around Britain and Ireland, two different species, the spiny and the short-snouted. The British Seahorse survey is dedicated to finding and plotting the populations of our indigenous seahorses in order to protect and conserve these vulnerable and environmentally sensitive animals. The Seahorse Trust aims to help protect worldwide populations. To find out more about seahorses and help with the battle to protect them, go to the websites.
-
Wildlife Vets International
This is a new charity and both Steve Leonard and I thought it was such a good idea we both agreed to become patrons. Wildlife Vets International provides specialist veterinary expertise to support people working in wildlife conservation all over the world. Many small, local conservation organisations find it hard to fund the often hugely specialist veterinary care they need. WVI provides vets, drugs and most crucially training to projects supporting some of the world's most endangered wildlife, including the Sumatran Tiger and the Amur Leopard.
-
Earthwatch
If you've ever wanted to get directly involved in the work that conservationists do, check out Earthwatch. They have projects all over the world and as a volunteer you get to experience every aspect of work in the field. I joined a project in northern Ghana a couple of years ago helping set up a reserve and monitor hippos. It was tough; very hard work and certainly not a holiday, but extremely rewarding and there's nothing quite like it for seeing conservation work at first hand.
