Campaigning for wildlife

BBOWT's Matthew Stanton addressing the crowd at Oxford global climate strike

BBOWT's Matthew Stanton addressing the crowd at Oxford global climate strike.

Campaign for wildlife

There are many ways of making change happen and one of these is to lobby your local representative in person and/or in writing. Developing a relationship with your local politicians can be very effective and remember they are there to represent you – it is their job to listen to you!

You can find resources here to help you speak up for wildlife and make your campaigning voice heard.

If you are interested in helping wildlife by lobbying your MP and/or local councillors, please join our Wildlife Ambassadors.

Become a Wildlife Ambassador!

We will contact you with suggested actions, including advice about what you can include in your communications.

When emailing or writing to your MP, don’t forget to include your full name and your postcode. Some MPs require a full address and contact telephone number so it might be worth including this information if you are comfortable doing so. Most MPs will send an automatic reply on receiving your email stating their requirements, so be prepared to resend your email with any adjustments. MPs can only help their own constituents, you can check who your MP is and find out more about them at www.theyworkforyou.com

We are currently campaigning on the following issues:

Badger in grassland

Badger by Andrew Parkinson 2020Vision

Nature 2030 - The Wildlife Trusts is part of a major campaign by over 70 wildlife and countryside organisations aimed at all political parties ahead of the next UK general election. We want them to commit to including these five actions in their manifestos:

  • A pay rise for nature and farmers - double the nature-friendly farming budget
  • Make polluters pay - require polluting big businesses to deliver environmental improvements
  • More space for nature by 2030 - restore wildlife-rich sites and create a Public Nature Estate
  • Deliver green jobs - create a National Nature Service for habitat restoration
  • A right to a healthy environment - establish a human right to clean air and water and access to nature

Please add your name by signing here and share with your friends and family.

Sale of peat compost – Last year we welcomed the news that the UK Government would ban the sale of bagged peat compost in England by the end of 2024 however, disappointingly, there won’t be a ban on ALL peat-based gardening products until 2030:

  • Retailers will still be able to sell peat compost in bags until the END of 2024 
  • The professional horticulture sector will still be able to grow all plants in peat containing compost until 2026 
  • Plug plants and edible mushrooms, among other products, will still be grown in peat containing compost until 2030 

The Wildlife Trusts will continue to campaign for a complete ban on the extraction and commercial trade of peat and we are calling upon the UK Government to: 

  • Ban the extraction and commercial trade of peat immediately
  • Ban all horticultural uses of peat as soon as parliamentary timeframes allow, or by 2024 at the latest
  • Restore all bogs damaged by the removal of peat by 2030

If you would like support and advice about going peat free you can download our ‘Greener gardening: Perfecting peat free’ guide and share it with your friends and family.

Nature for everyone - Sadly, 1 in 3 people in England do not have nature near their home. The Government has promised to create equal opportunities for everyone by introducing new laws as part of its ‘Levelling Up’ agenda. These laws include changes to the planning system, making this an important opportunity to create a 'right to nature' for every community.

We’ve joined forces with over 70 other environmental, health, and social justice groups to speak about this important issue, and we need your help. Please sign our joint petition today.

Badger culling - BBOWT opposes culling and believes the science used to justify the killing of thousands of badgers every year in the UK is flawed. For more information and facts about the science behind the badger culls, visit The Wildlife Trusts' website which summarises some of the key scientific evidence on bovine TB.

The Government has announced that it will stop issuing cull licences in 2022. However, as each license runs for 4 years, the badger cull is still ongoing across many counties including Oxfordshire and Berkshire with the possibility of a new licence being issued for Buckinghamshire as well.

BBOWT is asking supporters to stand up for badgers by writing to their MPs to ask them to speak up on this issue in Parliament. How to contact your MP.

HS2 - we have been campaigning against this project since 2010, as it poses a serious threat to precious wildlife and habitats.

A report by The Wildlife Trusts, HS2 Double Jeopardy, has shown that HS2 Ltd made fundamental flaws in the way it assessed the value of nature along its construction path - hugely undervaluing natural habitats and the wildlife being destroyed by construction of the new high-speed rail line – while simultaneously overvaluing the impact of its nature compensation measures.

Following the Government announcement that Phase 2a of the HS2 scheme - the Birmingham to Manchester leg - has been cancelled, we want to see better and more effective mitigation from HS2 Ltd for what remains of this extremely destructive project. Follow our HS2 campaign

 

Become a Wildlife Ambassador!

 

Useful resources

Meeting your MP

Adam Afriyie MP meeting local constituent Hannah Needham

Step-by-step guides

Our step-by-step guide to lobbying your MP

Our step-by-step guide to lobbying your local councillor

Blogs

These blogs describe how wildlife ambassadors have arranged, prepared for and followed up meetings with MPs. They provide plenty of advice about what to do if you are thinking of meeting your MP:

Now's the time to meet your MP by Hannah Needham

How to meet your MP and give wildlife a voice by Val Siddiqui

Videos

If you feel daunted by the idea of contacting your MP or councillor the video below aims to give you confidence and point you towards useful resources to help you to prepare and get your message across.

  • Find out how Government works and how we can best influence Government policy from Richard Benwell, Chief Executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link and former senior advisor at DEFRA.
  • Councillor Carolyne Culver from West Berkshire Council will tell us how best to contact your local authority councillor, how this has this changed since the pandemic, and what to do or not to do when contacting your councillor.
  • BBOWT Wildlife Ambassador Val Siddiqui will describe her considerable experience of lobbying using various methods including how to prepare for a meeting with an MP or councillor and how to follow it up.

How to lobby your MP and local councillor

This webinar from our Youth Summit for was aimed at campaigners aged between 14 and 25 but will be useful for anyone wanting to lobby their local representative. Our trio of inspiring speakers share their experiences and provide tips on how you can get more politically active. Workshop leaders include:

  • Nicky Warden, Public Affairs and Planning Officer at BBOWT, who outlines BBOWT's current campaigns, how we are working to influence local MPs and councillors and what you can do to help.
  • EJ Fawcett, a non-binary Youth Climate Activist who has been active in campaigning about the Climate Crisis for over two years.
  • Hannah Needham, a BBOWT conservation trainee from 2018 - 2019. She is now the Junior Director of the charity Heal Rewilding, and also delivers lobbying campaigns as part of the UK Youth for Nature team.

How to Make Your Voice Heard - Lobbying Your Elected Representatives

Who to contact

You can find out who your MP is here.

You can find out who your local councillor is here or try going straight to your Council website.

Contact us at publicaffairs@bbowt.org.uk for more advice on lobbying or to let us know what action you have taken and how your MP/councillor has responded.

More ways to help nature in your local community