Players of People’s Postcode Lottery support RSPB Scotland

The wildlife conservation charity has become the recipient of a £1Million award, and the funding will help the RSPB build People Power for Nature, by funding five RSPB projects in seven different towns and cities, home to millions of people across the UK.

Collectively, the projects have been created to help urban communities to connect with nature and become part of collective efforts to protect it. In Scotland this includes:

• Work with a diverse range of communities in Glasgow to connect and deepen their relationship with nature through co-designed activities, events and skills building, as well as facilitating visits to their nearest reserve for new and more diverse audiences, some of whom find accessing nature and the wider countryside more challenging. The more people connect with and experience nature, the more they will feel inspired to take action to save it
• A two-year pilot project to develop a Species Volunteer Network in Scotland. The Network will work to empower volunteer teams working in communities across the UK through training and support to carry out direct, skilled, hands-on action to recover and conserve critically declining species, including wader species, such as Curlew in Glenlivet. Joining a UK-wide recruitment of around 200 volunteers that will also help to provide advice to farmers looking to access government and other funding opportunities.
• And across the country RSPB Scotland will be engaging with people living in urban areas and encouraging them to take part in the RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch, the UK’s largest garden-based citizen science project. As well as being a relaxing and fascinating activity, everyone involved plays an important role in helping conservationists build a valuable picture of how each species is faring and form a plan action to help native bird species.

RSPB Scotland community group on a ride and plant day.

Anne McCall, Director of RSPB Scotland said: “It’s hard not to be inspired by Scotland’s wildlife and wild spaces, but increasingly busy lives and city-living can make our amazing species and landscapes seem distant or even impossible to reach. RSPB Scotland believes everyone should have access to nature, as we all benefit from feeling connected to our natural world. Thanks to the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery we will be creating opportunities for people in communities across Glasgow as well as elsewhere in Scotland to experience our amazing wildlife.”

Beccy Speight, Chief Executive of the RSPB, said: “We know that wildlife is fundamental to our wellbeing - you only need to witness a child spotting their first butterfly to realise this. And in towns, cities and communities across the length and breadth of the UK, nature rich green spaces give adults and children the space to improve our physical and mental health. From the clean air we breathe, to the animals we spot, to the parks we jog in – we know that when wildlife wins, so do we.

“Helping people to feel the benefits that nature brings and giving them the opportunity to connect with it in new ways, has never been more important. I’d like to say a huge thank you to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for their generosity and support. Together, through this funding, we will work to protect our precious wildlife and inspire people to become lifelong nature lovers.”

Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “I am delighted that players of People’s Postcode Lottery have raised this incredible sum of money to support RSPB’s ‘People Power for Nature’ project. Players of the lottery are all across Great Britain, so it’s great to hear that the funding will impact communities North, South, East and West, allowing all our players to see first-hand the impact of their support.”