Standing up for Nature in the Run Up to the General Election

Standing up for Nature in the Run Up to the General Election

Climate march Nottingham by Leanne Manchester

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust is calling for everyone to unite and stand up for nature at the 'Restore Nature Now' march.

On Saturday 22 June, members of the public are being encouraged by Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust to ‘unite for nature’ by joining the family friendly ‘Restore Nature Now’ event in central London. The demonstration will draw together thousands of people from across the UK to call on all political parties to take urgent action to restore nature and tackle climate change.

The event is backed by a wide-range of nature, wildlife and climate groups – including Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust, plus high-profile campaigners such as Chris Packham.

With the UK on record as one of the worst nations for nature loss, environment campaigners are encouraging everyone who cares for nature and the future of our planet to come together and march through London, before gathering to send a clear message in Parliament Square. The simple demand will be Restore Nature Now. 

Water Vole

This legal organised event is being billed as both a celebration of UK nature and a much-needed protest for urgent political action to tackle the nature and climate emergencies. The march will be peaceful and inclusive and is supported by a diverse collection of wildlife and environment groups and organisations including the RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts, The Climate Coalition, WWF-UK, National Trust, WWT, Woodland Trust, Rewilding Britain, Extinction Rebellion and Chris Packham.

Skylark

Skylark (c) Vaughn Matthews

Chloë Edwards, Director of Nature Recovery at Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust, said: “Together we are signalling that the upcoming General Election must be a turning point for nature - before it is too late. Our collective future is bleak if political parties fail to put in place effective policies and protections for the wildlife and wild spaces that can help us build climate resilience, provide clean water and sustainable food supply. Please come along on 22 June and add your voice.”

Craig Bennett, Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said: “Political focus on nature and climate in this country needs a huge upgrade. People understand the seriousness of the nature crisis and demand that elected officials do the same. Nature charities are backed by millions of supporters and this event will see many of these as well as our volunteers and anyone who cares about nature taking a collective stand. We can lose the embarrassing badge as one of the most nature-depleted countries on earth, but we have got to go further and work faster together. Inaction is simply not an option.”

Green-winged Orchid

Green-winged Orchid (c) Dan Townsend

The UK is shockingly ranked as one of the worst countries in the world in terms of nature loss. A staggering 1 in 6 wildlife species are at risk of extinction in Great Britain. A range of Government policies have also been rated as inadequate to deal with the scale of the nature and climate crisis.

We are a nation of nature-lovers and polls regularly highlight high levels of concern over inadequate UK climate and nature action. Results from two nationwide-surveys conducted by The Wildlife Trusts showed that irrespective of voting choice, nature matters to people across the electorate. 93% of voters reported that they feel nature loss is a serious threat to humanity.

Supporters can find out more about the Restore Nature Now demonstration and register to attend at www.restorenaturenow.com