Heron in park by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Ask your local councillor to speak up for wildlife
Nature in the UK is in serious trouble. The State of Nature report has warned us that wildlife continues to decline, and one in seven species in the UK is threatened with extinction.
We know that people in this country really care about the environment - but not enough is being done by local and national government to protect it. Public expenditure on biodiversity has fallen by 42% since 2008.
With the help of our members, we are already campaigning for a strong Environment Bill. But local government can make a real difference, too. If all councils in the UK made nature a priority, our parks, houses, road verges and schools could be places where people and wildlife thrive side by side.
Will you write to your local councillor and ask them to make protecting nature and wildlife a priority?
Step 1
Find out the name and contact details of your local councillor.
• The District Council is responsible for local services, including planning, council housing, and rubbish collection.
• The County Council is responsible for local services, including education, social services, transport, roads (except trunk roads and motorways), public rights of way, and libraries.
• Management of land can be the responsibility of either district or county councils (and sometimes town and parish councils).
Step 2
Download our template letter and fill in your details.
This template is only a suggestion. We suggest you tailor your letter to make it personal and relevant to your local situation. Please consider adding a sentence to say why nature is important to you in your local area.
Other things you might want to include in your letter:
• Has your council already taken a positive action for wildlife (eg. mowing road verges less often)? If so, thank them - local authorities work hard with limited budgets.
• Has your council declared a climate emergency? If so thank them for doing so and ask them what steps they are taking to achieve the targets they have set. If not, ask them to declare one.
Wildlife-friendly features like swift bricks can make a real difference for threatened wildlife
• Ask them to include green roofs, bird boxes and other homes for wildlife as a standard feature in all public buildings.
• Ask them to ban single use plastics in public buildings (subject to health needs and other exceptions).
Road verges are vital habitats for over 720 different plant species. Photo by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
• Ask them to ensure local environmental record centres are properly funded and that they have their own fully resourced ecologists – they need expertise and advice to assist them.
• When writing to county councillors you might want to ask them to consider how they are managing road verges (Plantlife have produced an excellent guide to managing road verges that you could point them to) - delaying the cutting of road verges until late in the year enables plants to flower and provide food and homes for wildlife.
Step 3
Print the letter and post it to your councillor - or send it as an email.
Step 4
When you've contacted your councillor, let us know using the form below.