Toby Travis
In the future, I want to do more for wildlife, to help animals, birds and insects thrive in the wild – and you can too!
Martha Morgan-Travis
We became aware of wildlife superstar Martha Morgan-Travis in spring last year, when her father Toby contacted us to say she'd raised money for the Trust by running stalls outside her home.
Here's Martha's story, in her own words:
Hi, my name is Martha and I am 11 years old. I live in Kendal and love to be out in nature.
During lockdown, I decided to raise money for the Cumbria Wildlife Trust by selling handmade gift tags online. My mum helped me advertise the tags on Facebook. In total, I raised £100 pounds.
I chose to support this particular charity as I love nature and the environment, and think that we should be doing more to protect it.
Nature is important for children because it provides us with a space to be ourselves - to discover who we are and what we like to do. For me, I love to be out and about - climbing trees, hiking up mountains, swimming in lakes - and I think that nature should be accessible to everyone, as an environment to learn in as well as to play in.
In the future, I want to do more for wildlife, to help animals, birds and insects thrive in the wild - and you can too! All it takes is a passion for nature, a love of the outdoors, and hard work to make your ideas become reality. Your efforts - however tiny - can make a huge difference.
Martha's donation went towards conservation work at our Bowber Head Farm Nature Reserve, including collecting and growing seed to be planted out the following year, walling and fencing to protect the wildflowers from grazing, creating new habitats for species like curlews and the Scotch Argus butterfly, and installing nest boxes for barn owls and other birds.