#iwill4nature: Representing the London Wildlife Trust in the Year of Green Action

Last Thursday, I was invited along to London Zoo to celebrate the grand launch of #iwill's brilliant #iwill4nature campaign. #iwill, creation of the charity Step Up To Serve, is a government-funded programme that aims to get as many young people as possible involved in social action.

I attended as a representative of the London Wildlife Trust, having recently joined their Young People’s Forum. Over the next twelve months, myself and the Forum’s eleven other members will be working together to help the organisation develop its youth-focused programmes and marketing campaigns, which are delivered as part of its Keeping it Wild initiative.

During the evening event - held at a time when figures show that one in 10 children do not regularly spend time outdoors - Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced that, over the next year, £10 million will be invested into encouraging more children and teens to get involved with projects that benefit the natural world. It’s a way of delivering on a government promise, presented in the 25 Year Environment Plan, to connect more young people with nature.

"The 10 million boost outlined today will help ensure there are no barriers for young people to access the benefits of the natural world and, importantly, enable them to play their part in environmental protection."

Whilst I was there, I spoke to DEFRA about why I think their Year of Green Action - a similar scheme that’ll be running alongside the #iwill4nature campaign throughout 2019 - is so important. Frankly, our environment and the life systems that it supports are in crisis, and it’s vital that we act - fast. Yet there are so many people who just don’t seem to care. Certainly, there’s an idea that the younger generation, in particular, simply don’t care about the natural world. 

But I think it’s not so much a lack of care as a lack of understanding - why would somebody feel driven to protect something that they've never truly understood, seen or experienced? As soon as something becomes a part of our lives, we’re keen to guard it. So many young people are out of touch with nature, but offering them the chance to get outside and engage with it will no doubt help to nurture that innate, deep-rooted connection that some of us are lucky enough to find familiar, and to open their eyes to the true value of our environment.

Superstitious beliefs in China and Southeast Asia are a major driving force of the illegal wildlife trade. Many of their widely-used, traditional medicines contain parts of critically endangered animals, from tiger bones to pangolin scales.

Sulking or snoozing? After a tough day of
digesting, Leander the two-toed sloth enjoys a
well-earned rest...

Of course, while I was at the zoo, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go and say a quick hello to some of the resident Hoffman’s two-toed sloths. Shortly after entering the Rainforest Life enclosure, I spotted a large male, curled up in the fork of a tree. According to a keeper I spoke to, this particular individual - named Leander - is best known for being a bit of a grump...

And perhaps this should come as no surprise - in their homeland of Central and South America, wild sloths face a number of challenges, one of which is the illegal pet trade. It's just one aspect of a multi-faceted, illicit market (and an unfortunately lucrative one at that - according to recent estimates published by the World Wildlife Fund, it generates revenue of around $15 billion a year): the market for illegal wildlife products. Earlier in the day, I met up with some of my fellow Forum members, along with the #iwill ambassadors, to hear from ZSL and CITES staff about how we can help to raise awareness of the issue, as well as support the various organisations who work to tackle it. A great way in which everybody can get involved is by celebrating World Wildlife Day on 3rd March.

If you'd like to do your bit for your community this year (and that includes the animal and plant kind, too!), then why not create your personalised #iwill pledge at https://www.iwill.org.uk/iwill-pledge-upload/?

It was such an inspiring evening, and one that's left me feeling even more excited for the Young People's Forum's very first meeting, due to be held in the city next week. Check back for more updates!