Page 3 - Natural World Spring 2018

Eight things farmers Our biggest nwLeowailtrdseglsia/ftnneUedtrwKuis-ssswtusied. se:
should be paid to provide challenge yet

1More, bigger and better Your membership of your Wildlife
natural habitats Trust is making great things happen
near you for wildlife and people.
Using ecological mapping to co-ordinate Thank you. Together, The Wildlife
farmers’ land management Trusts have a voice influencing each
of the four elected parliaments in
2 Thriving the UK. Our input is informed by our work in real
wildlife places, with real people, real local authorities,
farmers and businesses. We have a deep and
Pioneering farmers have shown that you broad understanding of what helps wildlife on land
can farm profitably and restore wildlife and at sea, and of the immense benefits for people
and communities of being closer to nature.
3 Abundant We’ve been on the case for over 100 years. From
pollinators 1912, we sought to stop the draining of the East
Anglian Fens. We were pivotal in securing the 1949
These insects are a vital link in our food Act that brought in statutory conservation. We
chain. Joint action can bring them back were a central voice when the 1981 and 2000 Acts
were passed, tightening protection for key wildlife
4 Healthy sites. Subsequently, we led the charge for Marine
soils Acts to protect our seas.
Now we face our biggest challenge: securing
Farmers should be paid for conserving and state backing for nature’s recovery. Protected
improving soil wildlife sites are vital, but a healthier fabric is
required if wildlife is to become abundant again. In
5Clean the last issue, we called for an Environment Act.
water Now there may be political movement towards it.
In her first speech about the environment, the
Reducing fertiliser pollution and run-off Prime Minister reflected our ambition for nature’s
will clean rivers and lower water bills recovery. Maybe Government is beginning to see
how much wildlife means to society. The speech
6Clean air and climate recognised nature’s vital role in our mental health,
change mitigation and the scourge of plastic pollution. There were
fantastic words and ambitions that raise the spirits.
Restoring dried-out peatlands locks up But in the end, actions speak louder than words.
atmospheric carbon The fact that we depend on the natural world
remains too far from the centre of government
7Flood Risk policy. There needs to be legislation to ensure real
Management and lasting change. Unless governments show
more leadership, wildlife will continue to decline
Changing livestock and land use on hills and with it our health, as even more people
slows down water runoff, reducing floods become isolated from nature.

8Healthy
people

Better access to the countryside means
better physical and mental health

Stephanie Hilborne OBE
Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts
@stephhilborne

The report shows how we Wherever you are in the UK, your Wildlife Trust is standing up for
can meet the needs of wildlife and wild places in your area and bringing people closer to
nature. Contact us on enquiry@wildlifetrusts.org or 01636 677711.
both nature and farming To join your Wildlife Trust, visit wildlifetrusts.org/joinus. Natural
World, The Kiln, Waterside, Mather Road, Newark, Notts NG24 1WT.
Editor Rupert Paul Layout editor Dan Hilliard Communications
Manager Lucy McRobert. Cover: Scottish red squirrel by Peter
Cairns/2020VISION

twitter @wildlifetrusts facebook.com/wildlifetrusts

spring 2018 NATURAL WORLD 3