People are the key to nature’s recovery. Society needs nature yet we are increasingly disconnected from our natural environment. As Sir David Attenborough has said, “No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”
Many people are unable to access wild places close to where they live. Too often, this is associated with underlying issues in society of discrimination, privilege or oppression. The environment sector must do more to overcome this.
Meanwhile, some sectors of society are more at risk than others from the impacts of global challenges – particularly young people, who will most keenly feel the impacts of the climate and ecological emergency over their lifetimes, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. For these groups, issues around social justice are embedded within wider climate and ecological issues.
North Wales Wildlife Trust will work to understand the barriers that exist between individuals, communities and the natural world; seeking to empower people of all identities, cultures, backgrounds and abilities to value, enjoy, speak up and take action for wildlife. We will connect people with natural spaces and nurture their sense of belonging within them through improved community engagement and creating safe, inclusive wild places close to where people live, work and play.
We will listen to our supporters, connect people together and empower them to effect real change, so that we can change behaviours and drive better decision-making for nature across the political and corporate sphere, at both the local and national level.