Investors in Wildlife

Essex Wildlife Trust began the Investors in Wildlife scheme in 1991 when Cliff Moore, a volunteer at the Trust, recruited founding business members who wanted to support their local conservation charity and work towards helping the environment. Over the past 30 years the scheme has grown to over 400 members, a network of Essex businesses that forms the largest corporate scheme within the national Wildlife Trust movement.

Many of our founding members are still working with the Trust today. Bennetts Funeral Directors, Hugh Pearl Land Drainage Ltd and Essex & Suffolk Water all continue to help protect our beautiful county for the benefit of wildlife.

Our partnership with Essex & Suffolk Water over the past 28 years has seen us working closely together to improve the biodiversity and protect the wildlife at Abberton and Hanningfield Reservoirs, while allowing public access to the community and outdoor learning activities alongside delivering the vital water supply to the people of Essex.

Most recently, Essex & Suffolk Water sponsored a community project to remove plastic tree guards and recycle them, supported by another Investor in Wildlife, Essex County Council, who also volunteered to remove the tree guards with our Landscape Conservation team. This project has been a testament to what can be achieved when businesses and Wildlife Trusts work together.

We have been fortunate to be supported by many Investors in Wildlife on specific conservation projects over the past few decades. Many corporate members supported us with the Essex Barn Owl Conservation Project by sponsoring nest boxes and volunteering their time and expertise to help reduce costs. This project saw over 300 nest boxes installed throughout Essex and 470 barn owls ringed, contributing data into national monitoring reports and datasets.

Barn owl photo: Russell Savory

Our outdoor learning programmes have also been supported, helping inspire the next generation of children to develop a lifelong love of nature. M&G Investments have supported the Trust by giving over £40,000 to the delivery of Forest Schools, allowing children to thrive from exploring and learning within the natural surroundings of a woodland.

Ground Control, a Silver corporate member, have recently supported the Trust by sponsoring our Bugs Matter app. Part of our Action for Insects campaign, the annual results from this citizen science project will help us build up a better picture of insect abundance in the county, using innovative and inclusive methods. Ground Control have also been working independently to create positive change for the environment. In May 2020, they launched the Evergreen Fund, dedicating 5% of its annual net proceeds to a £5 million Impact Venture Fund, dedicated to environmental initiatives and carbon sequestration. The fund is to seed growth capital to selected start-ups and social enterprises, so that businesses can be a force for good and create positive change for the environment.

As the Investors in Wildlife scheme entered its 30th anniversary, we undertook a thorough review of the scheme. To further our strategic aims and meet our goals on sustainability, the scheme has been updated to provide a new vision to becoming greener and more sustainable – and it’s right on time. We have entered the most vital decade for nature and know that the actions taken now will have a direct impact on the future.

In the corporate world, we know investing in wildlife is good for business, the natural environment is the foundation of our economy: Being green is an increasingly determining factor in the performance and success of businesses and the Trust believes that through working together, real change for the better can happen for our environment.

The new Investors in Wildlife scheme comprises of three levels of membership: Silver, Gold and Platinum, plus a bespoke partnership offering. Benefits at each level have been reviewed to ensure they reduce the pressure on the environment and make the financial contribution work harder for wildlife. The new partnership level is for organisations that are dedicated to creating real change for wildlife in Essex. The partnership package is entirely bespoke, depending on the needs of the business and how we can best help the environment, together.

Essex Wildlife Trust will continue to work on inspiring all businesses in Essex to become greener and more connected to the natural world, and we look forward to working with experts and industry professionals around Essex to create positive change for our natural world.