WWF UK, RSPB and National Trust launch People's Plan for Nature alongside Wild Isles
The BBC’s new series Wild Isles, co produced by our friends at WWF UK and the RSPB launched in March featuring broadcast legend, Sir David Attenborough. Now the People's Plan for Nature calls on action to protect nature.
The five-episode Wild Isles series shines a light on the incredible diversity of wildlife right on our doorstep. It reminds us how incredible nature is, how it’s our life support system but crucially, how it is also in crisis.
Sir David Attenborough helps us celebrate the wonders of the islands and brings our extended homes into our living rooms. He reveals the surprising and dramatic habitats that exist right on our doorstep, rekindling the British public's love for wildlife.
The series focuses on woodlands, grasslands, freshwater and oceans. With intricately connected species relying on healthy habitats, and one another, for survival, the series highlights why it's vital we protect what's left of our wild isles, and restore our wildlife and wild places for future generations.
As Sir David Attenborough, Broadcaster summarises, "If we are to save what we have left, we must act now."
Please help 'Save our Wild Isles'
Once the series concludes, a separate documentary ‘Save our Wild Isles’ will become available, controversially only on BBC Iplayer, rather than aired in the primetime Sunday evening slot. WWF, RSPB and the National Trust commissioned this additional documentary to zoom in a little closer on the causes of nature depletion in the UK, to highlight some positive case studies from across the country and to finish with a hopeful message, to changes we can all make in order to tackle biodiversity loss. They demand an immediate halt to the destruction of UK nature and urgent action for its recovery.
"The reality is, that actually, we're one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Everyone, everywhere can do something to help restore nature". Deborah Meaden, Business Leader and Investor
To conclude the series, the charities are asking for;
- 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.
- Make sure nature is at the heart of every business 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.
- We're asking everyone to go wild once a week and help save our wild isles.
The People’s Plan for Nature
To that end, the series coincides with the launch of the People’s Plan for Nature. This separate, but cleverly entwined project, is the result of a six-month citizen assembly, where 30,000 people from across the country, representing those from all walks of life, shared their ideas for nature country and a shortlisted 100 individuals coming together in workshops to create a people’s plan for nature. The resulting plan represents months of listening, research, and collaboration and is the public’s vision for the future of nature in the UK and the actions that we all need to take to protect and regenerate it. Now it is time for organisations like ours to listen, consider and put into action many of the recommendations included.
So, what does the plan say? What do the people want to see changed to effectively protect and renew nature? View it in full here.
"Nature is yours, nature is everybody's". Natasher Beecher, Nature Activist
Farm groups and environment NGOs unite with consensus on future food and farming
Earlier this year, the Soil Association collaborated with a number of environmental NGOs including RSPB and WWF UK, and farming organisations to look at how we can produce food to meet the needs of the public and do so whilst regenerating soil health, boosting nature, and tackling excess emissions?
Together we agreed that the current framework for food and farming has not worked effectively for farmers OR the environment; and that the way much food and drink is produced, processed, and marketed is making both people, and the planet, unhealthy. Read more about what we agreed in our consensus here.
What can you do take action on protecting nature at home?
- Pledge your support for the People’s Plan for Nature when it launches later this month.
- Sign up to one of the Soil Association’s pledge actions which includes gardening for wildlife, sourcing and eating better food and helping out in your local community.
- Sign up for our newsletter where we regularly involve our community in actions for Government, give updates on our policy work and provide offers from our partners.
- Make a donation to the Soil Association to help us achieve our objectives of food, farming and forestry systems which tackle the climate, nature and health crises.