GOING WILD!

This category includes charities associated with wildlife, conservation and animal welfare. This is a vast and diverse field of charitable activity and, having cut my list down to a shortlist of nine, I found myself unable to reduce it any further! The only reason there are only six charities listed below is because I’m still awaiting confirmation and approval from three of the charities I’ve been in touch with.

I am especially interested in promoting the tremendous benefits to human welfare, including physical, mental and spiritual health, which is provided through access to unspoilt nature, abundant wildlife, and positive interactions with non-human animals, both wild and domestic. I believe we all need to “go wild” as often as possible – switching off our addictive distraction-and-stress machines, for a while, stepping out into the fresh air and just appreciating Nature, all around us. All of these excellent charities, in my opinion, can help with that.

  • In the listings below, I give a brief description of each charity in my Going Wild! category, plus a link to their website, for further information.

  • If you decide to hire me, for any of my photography-based services, you may choose Going Wild! as your Charity Preference.

  • This means that when you make payment, half my net income from the work I undertake for you will be divided between the charities listed below.

  • Of course, you may also donate directly to any of these charities. Just click on the donations button, which opens the charity’s fundraising page.

WILDLIFE AID FOUNDATION

The Wildlife Aid Foundation is a charity dedicated to the rescue, care and rehabilitation of sick, injured and orphaned animals. Based in Leatherhead, Surrey, it operates one of the three largest wildlife hospitals in the UK and maintains a referral service for similar facilities throughout Europe. The foundation’s goal is to treat every wild animal brought into its care completely free of charge and provided they are capable of surviving in the wild, to return all of these animals to their natural environment.

PLANTLIFE

Plantlife is a conservation charity which owns and manages 23 public nature reserves across the UK, and works with a network of global partners to inspire and support international action for healthy, diverse and abundant wild plants. The planet's ability to function, and our own survival, depend critically on the plants which comprise more than eighty percent of the Earth’s biomass. We use and depend on them in countless ways, for food, clothing, building materials and medicines - but our wild plants, and fungi, are threatened as never before. Only three per cent of the UK’s wildflower meadows survive today, compared with their area less than a century ago. As a society, we have lost our connection with nature and its power to sustain mental and physical wellbeing. Plantlife's mission is to address the various threats this poses to our climate, to biodiversity and to human society.

WHALE AND DOLPHIN CONSERVATION

WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation is the leading global charity dedicated to the conservation and protection of whales and dolphins. WDC defend these remarkable creatures against the many threats they face through campaigns, lobbying, advising governments, conservation projects, field research and rescue. Their four main goals are to end captivity, prevent deaths in nets, create safe seas and stop whaling, with a vision to create a world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free. WDC has offices in the UK, USA, Germany and Australia and works closely with the OrcaLab research station in British Columbia, Canada.

BRITISH TRUST FOR ORNITHOLOGY

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is a citizen-science charity, which focuses on how, and why, wild bird populations are changing. Its approach is to harness the skills, knowledge and passion of thousands of volunteers, gathering vast amounts of data which helps to advance our understanding of all our native birds. In this way, the BTO has been monitoring the UK’s birds since 1933 and has even extended its work to study other wildlife too, including mammals, dragonflies, amphibians and bees. This scientifically rigorous work is frequently used to secure protection for special wildlife sites, to set conservation priorities, to inform decisions over planning applications and new developments and to shape Government policy.

BRITISH HEDGEHOG PRESERVATION SOCIETY

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) is dedicated to helping and protecting the native British hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). Founded in 1982, The society offers help and advice to those with sick, injured or orphaned hedgehogs and maintains a list of rehabilitators and hedgehog hospitals in the UK – and funds research that provides important new insights into the conservation and welfare of hedgehogs. Through its campaigns, advocacy and educational projects, the society work to raise awareness of the practical steps we can take to help reverse the decline of hedgehogs in the wild, improve their welfare and safeguard the future of this much-loved animal.

WILDFOWL & WETLAND TRUST

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust is the only UK charity to promote the protection of wetland birds and their habitats, in Britain and internationally.  Its mission is to conserve, restore and create healthy, biodiverse wetlands, providing vital habitats for an abundance of wetland wildlife whilst inspiring the public to value the amazing things healthy wetlands achieve for people and nature. The WWT currently owns or manages ten UK reserves with visitor centres, extending to over 20 square kilometres and supporting over 150,000 wild birds. It also advocates for wetland and conservation issues worldwide and, through WWT Consulting, provides ecological surveys and expert advice on wetland habitat design, wetland management, biological waste-water treatment systems and the effective management of wetland reserves and their visitor centres.

THE WOODLAND TRUST

The Woodland Trust is the UK's largest woodland conservation charity. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972 and cares for caring for over 1,000 woods throughout the country, of which some 33% comprise ancient woodland. Inspired by its vision of a UK rich in woods and trees, the Trust’s activities include: 

  • Planting woods and trees to combat climate change, build a greener future for the UK and create havens for wildlife.

  • Bringing damaged ancient woods back to life, restoring these irreplaceable ecosystems so wildlife can thrive once again.

  • Campaigning against needless destruction of woods and trees, and leading the fight against tree pests and diseases.

  • Ensuring public access to the woods it cares for, so everyone can enjoy and appreciate this country’s precious woodland heritage.

RAINFOREST CONCERN

Over half of the tropical forests worldwide have been destroyed since the 1960s, and every second, more than one hectare of tropical forests is destroyed or drastically degraded. Rainforest Concern was established in the UK in 1993 to protect threatened natural habitats and the biodiversity they contain, together with the indigenous people who depend on them for survival. The charity seeks to prevent deforestation of critically endangered habitats by working with local communities and indigenous groups to understand the issues and finding long-term solutions to the threats facing them.

Rainforest Concern works with local communities and NGOs, both to promote sustainable likelihoods and to protect threatened habitats through the purchase of land for private reserves and the registration of ancestral indigenous territories. The charity has a policy of working closely with research institutions, to monitor the progress and success of its conservation strategies. Over its 28 year history, Rainforest Concern has helped to protect over 2.2 million hectares of threatened forest.