Make Room for Nature with Manx Wildlife Trust

‘The pressure on wildlife from development, climate change and human activities is enormous. Although we at Manx Wildlife Trust do great things, it is not enough. ‘We need more people’s help.’

This is Graham Makepeace-Warne, Head of Engagement at Manx Wildlife Trust. The organization is this year’s Charity Partner. Media Isle of Man Excellence Awards and they’re using the event to launch their new campaign: Make Room for Nature. And they want you in, yes you. Or at least check it out. You may eventually find something that benefits you.

‘The campaign is designed to benefit nature, of course, but also people. ‘There are various elements to Making Space for Nature, but the basic premise is that we want people to create and maintain spaces for wildlife.’

This doesn’t mean you have to build a forest in your backyard. The campaign is all about you and how you can easily and realistically adapt your environment to make it greener (in your own garden, workplace, school or a community group). This is where MWT #TeamWilder Project Manager Lucy Chapman comes into play.

‘Our aim is to help and empower people as much as possible to make a difference and do great things for nature, individually or in groups. Make Room for Nature can cover everything from big projects to small actions. So it’s like putting pollinating flowers in a window box at home, getting a large community to come together, gain some space, turn it into allotments, grow food, etc. It could be as simple as . This can be even the smallest action. really big community projects. Where we fit in is helping connect all of these actions and helping people feel like they’re part of a larger movement to make a difference. The campaign is about the people of the Isle of Man doing what they think is right for their wildlife. We know how much people care, but sometimes they don’t have access to the tools, support and expertise to help turn their ideas into reality. We want to change this with Make Room for Nature.’

An important point to understand is that this doesn’t just apply to people who are actively involved with the environment. You don’t have to be a climate change activist to participate in this. Hey, you don’t even have to believe in climate change to participate. Because Make Room for Nature It’s not just about benefiting the environment, it’s also about benefiting our own health. It has been documented that spending time in natural areas is good for people both physically and mentally. And the process of being able to create it for yourself is even better.

‘We must help nature; needs a helping hand. But we are also part of nature, so we shouldn’t see ourselves as separate from it’, Lucy tells me. ‘We need more green spaces to spend time. But at the same time, even the act of growing your own food gets you out into nature. With wildlife gardening, you can grow healthy food without pesticides. ‘All these types of activities, as well as coming together with the community to do them, whether that’s through allotments, community gardens, or sharing your own space, is really powerful.’

Make Room for Nature is about giving people resources (for FREE) that will help and empower you to start doing the little things that can make a big difference, not only for nature, but for your own health. And next year, the Manx Wildlife Trust will take its campaign even further.

‘Through corporate support, we will be asking every household in the Isle of Man to join us in the movement to reintroduce wild animals into their lives and communities, offering lots of help, advice and resources along the way.’ Lucy tells me. ‘We’re excited to announce full details of this soon.’

As part of the Make Room for Nature campaign, Manx Wildlife Trust will also be holding a fundraiser to purchase a brand new nature reserve for the Island.

‘For us, the best way to protect land for wildlife is to own it. If MWT has a piece of land, we will preserve it forever for wildlife and the community; It’s something we want to do more of. So what we want to launch on the evening of the Awards of Excellence is a fundraising campaign to create a land acquisition fund that we can use to purchase land that is absolutely best for wildlife and is also a wonderful local amenity. .’

The way MWT does this is by dividing the land into 3 square meters using What3words, which people can buy or fundraise for. Then they will always be able to say that the area they helped MWT buy was three square metres. It’s like your own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but greener. At the Awards of Excellence night, there will be envelopes on the tables for the fundraising campaign and posters with QR codes that you can scan to learn more about Make Room for Nature. You can also learn more by going to: mwt.im/MakeSpace.

‘We’re really excited about this year’s event,’ Lucy and Graham tell me enthusiastically. ‘This is always a celebration of the hard work done by so many brilliant people in the Isle of Man. So being there and being able to see the people who have supported us along the way will be a chance to thank the business community for continuing to support us and helping us sustain what we do. ‘