- UK environmental charities on the frontline of the climate crisis come together to encourage Brits to join nature’s fight against climate change
- Nearly 7.5 million Brits say the environment and conservation is the cause most likely to inspire them to volunteer, with over 12 million naming volunteering to support animals, as record-breaking heat, wildfires and extreme weather bring the climate crisis closer to home
Leading environmental charities, alongside Royal Voluntary Service and digital volunteering platform GoVo, are calling on the public to join nature’s fight for survival as record-breaking temperatures, wildfires and extreme weather bring the impacts of climate change closer to home.
Research from Royal Voluntary Service reveals that almost 7.5 million adults identify environment and conservation as the cause they would be most likely to volunteer for, while more than 12.3 million adults say supporting animals would most inspire them to give their time.
Yet despite the appetite, charities are still urgently looking for more support with more than 750 environment, conservation, and animal welfare roles on GoVo still in need of volunteers.
The findings come as leading environmental and conservation charities, including The Conservation Volunteers, Keep Britain Tidy, Marine Conservation Society and Chester Zoo, unite alongside Royal Voluntary Service and GoVo to urge more people to turn concern into action and support nature’s survival against climate change.
Together, the group of charities are calling on people across Britain to get involved with local projects that restore habitats, protect wildlife and strengthen the natural environments on which people and animals depend.
The call from the charities coincides with ITV’s ground breaking new natural history series, Force of Nature, which follows wildlife fighting back against the escalating impacts of climate change. ITV and Royal Voluntary Service hope that the series will inspire people to take action to support climate resilience through volunteering.
Love Actually and The Walking Dead actor, and Force of Nature narrator, Andrew Lincoln, said: “I feel privileged to be a part of Force of Nature, it is an extraordinary tv series about the impact of the climate crisis on animal survival.
“It’s three years in the making and highlights the astonishing ways animals are adapting to extreme weather and how the people working alongside are helping them to survive.
“It gives an important message of hope that every one of us can play a part in making a difference. Across the country charities on the frontline of environmental and animal conservation need help. By stepping forward to volunteer you can become part of the urgent effort to protect our natural world.”
The call follows one of Britain’s most extraordinary summers on record. England recorded its hottest June day ever at 37.7°C, while the month itself became the warmest on record. Temperatures above 35°C have now been recorded in May, June and July within the same year for the first time in weather history and the UK’s ten warmest years on record have all occurred since 2002.
Major fires have once again scorched British countryside this summer, while England’s rivers last year experienced their second-lowest March to August flows since records began in 1961.
The kind of climate impacts that Brits once watched unfold elsewhere are becoming an increasingly familiar part of life in Britain.
Jo Morison, Volunteer Manager at Chester Zoo, said: “Climate change isn’t a distant threat to the species we work to save – it’s wildfires tearing through the Cairngorms, where Scottish wildcats are being released back into the wild, and moorland near Manchester, where we helped bring back a butterfly once lost from the region.
“Nature is resilient, but it needs help fighting back. That’s why volunteering matters more than ever.
“Chester Zoo is already working with nature volunteers across Cheshire through our Networks for Nature project, helping the county to reach its biodiversity targets. We very much encourage anyone interested in volunteering to search online for similar schemes near them, and get involved.”
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, CEO of Keep Britain Tidy, said: “The job to take care of our environment is urgent, and it is everybody’s business to protect the places not only we – but wildlife and marine life – call home.
“I say to any person who thinks the challenge is insurmountable, or that their actions alone cannot make a dint in the problem, that together, person by person, day by day, we can make a huge difference to the environment on our doorstep.”
Catherine Johnstone CBE, CEO of Royal Voluntary Service, said: “Throughout history, communities across Britain have come together in response to society’s most urgent challenges. Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time, and volunteering gives people a practical way to be part of the solution.
“Whether it is protecting green spaces, supporting wildlife or helping communities become more resilient, every contribution matters. Small actions, multiplied by millions of people, can create lasting change that will impact our generations to come.”
Sandy Luk, CEO at the Marine Conservation Society, said:“Volunteering for the ocean is one of the most powerful ways you can make a difference to the climate crisis. Our ocean is our greatest ally in tackling climate change, but it is under increasing pressure from human activity.
“Whether you’re reporting seaweed types and jellyfish sightings to help scientists understand how our seas are changing, or collecting and recording litter to drive action on the causes of pollution, every contribution helps to protect the ocean we all depend on.”
There are hundreds of opportunities to volunteer and join the global effort by supporting frontline environment, conservation, and animal welfare charities on GoVo, made possible thanks to support from Postcode Lottery players.
GoVo connects people with bite-sized volunteering opportunities that fit easily into everyday life, including:
- Getting hands-on to preserve and enhance local forests.
- Supporting and protecting local wildlife from helping sick or injured animals, to creating habitats.
- Restoring wetlands and cleaning beaches and waterways.
- Monitoring and caring for bats, seals, butterflies, hedgehogs, bees and birds.
- Joining a green gym combining practical outdoor activities with the benefits of exercise and nature.
- Organising and supporting community events to engage and inspire more people.
- Digital and remote volunteering to raise awareness, advocate for charities and monitor wildlife.
Those inspired to join nature in the fight against climate change can find environmental, conservation, and animal-related volunteering opportunities in their area at GoVo.org.
