Will you join #TeamWilder?

Paul Harris/2020VISION Penny Dixie

You will soon hear Durham Wildlife Trust begin to talk about #TeamWilder, and you may even meet our new #TeamWilder Officer.

But what is #TeamWilder? This is a new, Wildlife Trusts’ movement-wide concept about empowering and enabling people to take meaningful action to bring about nature’s recovery on land and at sea. Our movement shares a vision of ‘a wilder future’ – a world that is rich in nature and wild spaces, which benefits both people and wildlife. To achieve a wilder future we need to give nature space to recover, and we want to see 30% of our land and seas in recovery by 2030. Wildlife Trusts are already working to deliver nature’s recovery across the places we care for and within the communities we work with, but we know that the scale of the challenge is enormous; we can’t do this alone. Everyone needs to understand the need for change, now, and to recognise their own role in making that change happen. #TeamWilder forms a central strand of The Wildlife Trusts’ 2030 Strategy:- ■ People are taking action for nature and the climate, resulting in better decision making for the environment at both the local level and across the UK, and ■ Inspiring community organising and mobilising, especially amongst young people. This is the chance for Wildlife Trusts to support everyone who is motivated to make a change – from landowners and farmers, to businesses, schools and faith groups, from families to book clubs, virtual communities, and wider. It’s in our own interests to help bring nature back and we all have a role to play to make that happen.

By working together we can help Durham’s #TeamWilder do incredible things for wildlife across our patch. To find out more about #TeamWilder, and how you can get involved, visit: durhamwt.com/teamwilder

Thanks to generous funding from SUEZ, Durham Wildlife Trust will be able to provide more support to communities and volunteers in Gateshead. A grant of £35,000 will see a specialist officer employed to engage and train local communities to look after their local Durham Wildlife Trust nature reserves – that person will be helping to spread the #TeamWilder message. This is a big step forward in securing the long-term sustainable management of these special wildlife sites, and will provide local groups and residents with the mentoring and skills they seek, as they look to be part of nature’s recovery from the Beamish Burn to the Tyne.