Do you know any local Nature Heroes? For our 60^th anniversary, we  are celebrating the contribution of 60 local people, groups and organisations who are taking action for nature and are looking for your nominations.  

Do you know someone who spends their free time volunteering, say for beach cleans or litter picks, or a young person who’s set up a fundraiser at their school? Maybe a local landowner who’s transforming their land to benefit nature, or a group that's created a wildlife garden in their community? It could simply be someone who’s built a bee hotel in their back garden!

If so, please nominate your local Nature Hero, by filling in this short form.

Stephen Trotter, Chief Executive of Cumbria Wildlife Trust says: “Cumbria Wildlife Trust has been working hard for Cumbria’s people, wildlife and environment for the last 60 years. With the vital support of thousands of members and many partners, we’ve achieved a huge amount as a charity. But as is often the case when reaching a significant birthday like this, we’ve been reflecting on our successes, our role in the world and what’s most important to us. 

“Our main conclusion is that you, the people and local communities of Cumbria are the most important element in the stories of wildlife and nature success in the last 60 years: people are at the heart of our work and people make us tick. Obviously, conserving and restoring Cumbrian wildlife is the focus of our activity but none of our work would have happened without the dedicated efforts of thousands of Cumbrian people, members, volunteers and staff, all giving their time and expertise freely to the cause of wildlife conservation. As a local charity, we are nothing without people working together and doing things for wildlife.

“So as we enter our 60^th year, we’d like to recognise and celebrate the current generation of people around the county who are taking action for wildlife and nature’s recovery. We’d like to hear about your local Nature Heroes so that we can celebrate and thank these unsung heroes who are helping to look after wildlife and bring it back to places where we’ve lost it. Together we can help our struggling wildlife become abundant once again and restore our beautiful wild places.”   

Our first nominated Nature Hero of 2022 is Amy Bray, a young woman who started out making changes at home, then dedicated her time to bringing her passion for nature to a wider audience. Amy founded the environmental conservation and education charity Another Way when she was just 16 years old. She has also set up two Another Weigh refill shops, in Kendal and Penrith. Over the last three years, Another Way has planted over 20,000 trees and worked directly with over 5,000 children, community groups and conference audiences. 

Each month throughout 2022 we will celebrate five of your nominated Nature Heroes on our website and on social media with the hashtags #60NatureHeroes and #60ForNature.