The RSPB Phoenix Forum is run and developed by young people for young people. The forum exists to represent the views of the RSPB’s youth membership, giving young people the opportunity to have a voice, discuss issues, engage with decision makers and contribute to improving the RSPB.

To vote please read all the manifestos published below, then send…

My name is Shaheryar Chishty, I live in Sheffield and I am twelve years old, I am very passionate for my poetry. My favourite time of year is December, my reason for this is that the most splendour bird is often seen at this time of year, the king fisher. It manifests its pallet of harlequin colours however it is very difficult to catch a glimpse of it because of it’s speed.

My most treasured wild life moment was…

Just over 150 years ago, Alexandra Palace Park was opened as a Victorian leisure park, with 196 acres of woodland, open grassland, formal gardens and a boating lake. The 'Peoples Palace' sits up high in north London and has spectacular panoramic views of the city and its incredible skyline. I know that it might appear strange, to some, that we get some great bird watching opportunities but trust me, we get some 'megas…

With the current UN climate change talks upon us, what has actually been achieved since the Paris talks last year? Well considering it has only been a year - and in political time that is very little and in geological time it is nothing at all - we have made some good starting points. As we can all agree climate change is not going to go away and we need to tackle it head to save our planet.

From 6-17 November the UN…

If you live near the beach, or you visit the beach in the summer, you might (if you're very lucky) have heard the distinctive squawk of a little tern or even seen one. This sea bird is the smallest of the terns in the UK.

The little tern is a mainly white bird, with pale grey upper wings and back with a dark crown. What distinguish them from other terns are their size, as well as their black tipped yellow beak.

Gill Lewis, the acclaimed children’s writer, will be releasing her latest book this October.

‘Sky Dancer’ is centred on the controversial topic of the illegal killing of hen harriers (‘sky dancers’) and the relationship between these birds and driven grouse shooting. Joe, the teenage son of a gamekeeper on the local grouse moors is involved, from the first page, in a moral and emotional struggle between deep…

Last night, I got back from my second ever Birdfair, feeling tired and a little bit depressed that I would have to wait a whole year for the next one.

I should probably give a quick description of the event, in case anyone has never been before. It is an annual fair held in August, and is bird-themed (with some other wildlife thrown in too).

There are stalls held by wildlife holiday companies, artists, conservation charities…

My local patch is the National Trust’s Sherborne Park Estate which has different habitats and provides the opportunity to see different wildlife. I have a long-haired German Shepherd so she needs long walks and the space at Sherborne Park Estate allows her to run and for me to see animals and birds up close.

My walking companion

I am lucky enough to live in a place where there are many red kites and it is possible…

Helena Wright, aged 14, writes about her work experience at the RSPB.

Work experience is something very memorable for many people. For mine, I wanted to do something that I’d never really done before, ideally to do with the media as that’s something I’d like to go into in the future.

For these reasons, I decided to go to the Fundraising and Communications department at the RSPB Lodge in Sandy, mainly…

A weekend camping in your back garden is an experience not to be missed. We’ve all done it, some of us more times than others, but it is a classic memory that everyone needs to have. Being a nature-enthusiastic teenager who’s done this many times, I arrogantly call myself a connoisseur of weekend camping, to the point where I’ve figured out three key stages that any teen camping experience needs to have.…

The Big Garden Birdwatch is one of the biggest, and most widely publicised, annual events in the RSPB calendar. Taking place across the last weekend in January, the event encourages people across the country to set aside an hour of their time to record the birds and wildlife that they see in their garden.

It all began in 1979, as a simple winter activity for the junior membership of the RSPB, which massively increased…

Depending on how much of a birder you are, you may or may not know about the plight of the cirl bunting over recent years. Well, for the last 23 years, the RSPB has been targeting cirl buntings with increasing levels of success.

It all began in 1993 when a cirl bunting project officer was employed to work with farmers and other landowners, encouraging the provision of specific for these birds. And with 450 pairs being…

On the anniversary of our pledge to the #iwill campaign Phoenix Forum member Will shares his experience of volunteering with the RSPB:

I have been volunteering at the RSPB nature reserve just down the hill from where I live, for as long as I can remember.

Whether it was helping out with the local RSPB Wildlife Explores group, or carrying stupidly heavy railway sleepers up a 2km stretch of hill path to build a pond,…

2017 marks the 10-year anniversary of the RSPB’s involvement with ‘Nature After Minerals’ (NAM). It’s a partnership programme in which the main focus is to encourage the restoration of ex-mining sites to wildlife habitats, in an attempt to conserve and to help endangered species to flourish.

What are the benefits of restoring Quarries?

The restoration of quarries carries several benefits for…

Bats are one of the animals most strongly assosciated with Halloween. Why?

Most would think that the answer is obvious, and lies in their blood-sucking habits. But no, their spooky connotations began long before the discovery of the vampire bat. Some believe it started with very early Halloween tradition, where people gathered around fires to ward off evil spirits. Bats feasted on the insects that were attracted to these…

113,498,000 acres of farmland are grown under sustainable management

1,408,900 people are being trained in earth-friendly farming methods

$94,424,200 have been earned by indigenous and forest communities through sustainable forest and farming enterprises

How has all this been achieved?

It’s all the work of the Rainforest Alliance, a non-profit organisation battling the effects of climate change and deforestation…

The success stories of birds of prey such as the Red Kite or White-tailed Eagle may make you think that the days of persecution and population struggles have gone. But you would be wrong, for there is a bird, the Hen Harrier, whose current situation casts a shadow of dismay and frustration over the conservation community.

The Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) is a bird of prey which dwells on the open heather clad uplands…

I have always loved watching nocturnal animals, When I was younger and living in the middle of the countryside, a tawny owl would come and perch on the huge sycamore tree outside my window, and its eerie calls would keep me awake at night as I strained my ears, trying to hear which direction it was coming from. On several occasions I went into the garden in the hope of spotting it, and would often find it silhouetted…

Our family's holidays were often camping based and I have many a fond memory of them. I’ve camped in all sorts of places, from Kirkcudbright in Scotland with its ‘Tardis’ toilet to the Isle of Wight with its ‘open air’ (aka arctic) swimming pool. More recently my tent has taken me to BirdFair in Rutland and around the White Peaks for my silver Duke of Edinburgh award. At night the environment around you is transformed…

Giving Nature a Home is the campaign that the RSPB are using to encourage people across the UK to help wildlife. Think about the area that you live in and how many gardens, allotments, football pitches, parks and village greens there are. Now think about how many there must be in the whole of the UK.

A Report from the UK National Ecosystem Assessment found that 54% of urban England is greenspace, and that’s just …

So then, for some of us it’s ‘quiz time’, as a friend so jollily put it. I’m in my final year of school, completing my A-levels in a few weeks (help!). There are a lot of young people burying heads in books and stressing about it all at the minute. I definitely understand that it’s not a lot of fun when it gets down to business, it’s very difficult to maintain that positive mind-set that is so very important. But I’m…

Election time is looming in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Politicians are dusting off their manifestos, the public are gearing up ready to cast their votes, and Bob is back on the campaign trail.

You may remember Bob from the 2015 general election. He is a small red squirrel and his aim is to put nature back on the political agenda by collecting as much support from politicians and the public as possible. Through…

This week we have a guest blog from one our Wingbeat readers Bessie Hyman, highlighting the plight of the house martin: 

My name is Bessie Hyman, I am 14 years old and I live in Somerset by the River Avon. I enjoy photographing and exploring nature. My dream job would be as a conservationist or wildlife cameraman.

Ever since I can remember I have been interested in nature. One time when I was about seven, I stood in…

In December this year Birds of Conservation Concern 4 was published, highlighting the status of birds in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The results remind us how important it is to get as much information about UK bird numbers as possible, worth bearing in mind with Big Garden Birdwatch on the horizon.  

At a glance, from 1996 to 2015, the number of species which are now no longer breeding have increased and…

If you’re interested in the political side of conservation, you will have heard of the EU Nature Directives - legislation that, over the past 30 years, has provided the highest level of protection for vulnerable habitats and species. This December (2015)  Environment Ministers from every EU country will meet to discuss how we ensure our birds and wildlife are recovering by 2020. The RSPB is working with its Birdlife…