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Somerset Wildlife Trust raising funds to help young people in Somerset become conservation champions

The Somerset charity has been selected to take part in this year’s Big Give Green Match Fund, aiming to raise £40,000 in a single week to help young people strengthen their connection to nature.

Somerset Wildlife Trust is asking its supporters to help raise £40,000 to support its Wilder Youth movement and enable young people in Somerset to become conservation champions. The charity will be raising funds as part of the Big Give Green Match Fund, the UK’s biggest match-funding initiative. 

From midday on Thursday 18th April until Thursday 25th April, all online donations to Somerset Wildlife Trust’s campaign will be doubled — thanks to generous match-funding from supporters including the Reed Foundation, which has already pledged to donate £10,000 to the cause. 

The charity is asking for donations from the public to help it reach its fundraising target in just one week. If successful, it will use the funds to support the work of its Wilder Youth Officer, who has been working with communities across the county to foster practical skill development in young people, build youth-led community initiatives, and establish an active youth forum in Somerset.

Big Give Green Match Fund social

Recent studies have shown that most young people lose their connection to nature after the age of ten, and once lost, it can take twenty years to recover. With a climate and nature emergency already declared, Somerset Wildlife Trust believes it is vital that young people are able to value, explore, and strengthen their connection to nature, for nature’s sake and for their own health and wellbeing. 

Siân Bentley, Wilder Youth Officer at Somerset Wildlife Trust, says: 
“It’s really important that young people are empowered to connect with nature in ways that are relevant and inspiring to them. One of the ways we want to achieve this is by establishing a youth forum in Somerset, which will enable young people between the ages of 12 and 24 to help shape the future for wildlife and nature by equipping them with the skills and experience they need to speak up about the environmental issues they care about. Alongside the forum, there are so many other exciting ways we can engage with Somerset’s young people and help them better connect to nature — and the funds we’re raising in this year’s Green Match Fund are absolutely critical if we want this work to continue.” 

You can support Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Wilder Youth movement and help the charity reach its fundraising target by visiting the Green Match Fund Project, Nature’s Hope: Young Hearts, Green Minds, and if you donate between Thursday 18th April and Thursday 25th April, every pound you donate will be matched.

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PR Lead – emily.weatherburn@somersetwildlife.org 

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Somerset Wildlife Trust, 34 Wellington Rd, Taunton TA1 5AW 
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About Somerset Wildlife Trust

Somerset Wildlife Trust is a nature conservation charity. Its purpose is to restore and protect the populations of species across the county and the habitats they call home. Climate change is one of the greatest threats to nature, natural habitats and the ecosystems that support our life on Earth. Our aims are to help address both the ecological and climate crises and put nature back into people’s lives.  

Nature reserves and protected sites on their own are not enough. In order to reverse the decline in species diversity and abundance, and create resilient landscapes and habitats for wildlife and for people that can adapt to climate change, we need to:   

  • Encourage and support landowners to manage their land positively for nature; create more space for nature.  

  • Connect wildlife-rich spaces across the wider landscape to create a robust Nature Recovery Network for Somerset.  

  • Create a movement of people – at least 1 in 4 – that take action for nature’s recovery across Somerset as part of Team Wilder.   

This is at the core of our new 10-year strategy. Nationally the Wildlife Trusts are calling for at least 30% of land to be managed positively for nature by 2030. What we do in Somerset must contribute to that national ambition. You can read our full 10-year strategy, Wilder Somerset here.