Calling All Champions

Its been just over a year since the RSPB launched its Campaign Champions programme, which aims to mobilise people to step up, campaign and take action for wildlife. In this time over 200 people in over 130 constituencies have registered as campaigners to help support and protect the wildlife they love.

Campaigning is at the hear of the RSPB and it really does make a difference. It’s something we’ve been doing since 1889, when Emily Williamson started campaigning to ban the barbaric trade in feathers for ladies hats. Since then we’ve come a long way including:

• Successfully banning DDT, the pesticide that got into the food chain and decimated species such as the Peregrine Falcon and Red Kite,
• Supporting local campaigners against the building of a huge 4-runway airport at Cliffe in North Kent,
• Gaining 350,000 signatures for our Letter to the Future Campaign, which highlighted to MPs how we have a duty to leave a legacy of wildlife and wonderful habitats for our children and our children’s children.

These past successes show that you can really make a difference!

Most recently our Campaign Champions and Activists have been busy collecting signatures for our Safeguard Our Sea Life Campaign, and so far they have collected over 2000 signatures for this vital campaign. Some of our campaigners even got to question the Minister responsible for Marine issues, Richard Benyon MP, at a live Question and Answer session.

Our Campaigners have also been campaigning on crucial areas including the vital Rio+20 Earth Summit that took place in June this year, encouraging our world leaders to embrace sustainable development. Others have been campaigning on the reform of the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), writing to their MEPs calling for greater protection to farmland wildlife. All of these actions are part of the RSPB’s biggest and most ambitious campaign ever, Stepping up for Nature. The ultimate aim of this campaign is to halt biodiversity loss by the year 2020, but to do this we need your help.

The success of our campaigns depends on many people taking small steps that together make the big difference. We are still actively looking for people to become campaigners and have two very exciting roles for you to choose from,

• The first role is for Campaign Champions where you can write letters and emails to MPs, take online actions, use social media such as twitter and facebook and help spread the word about our campaigns in your local area.            

• The second role is for Campaign Champion Activists where you can do all of the above but also visit MPs and local decision makers to talk to them about our campaigns and the wonderful work the RSPB does.

Both roles have the potential to make a big difference as proven by the success of our current Champions and more Champions mean more success which means a better future for our wildlife.

For more information and details on how you can step up and become an RSPB Campaign Champion please go to www.rspb.org.uk/campaignchampions telephone the Parliamentary Campaigns Team on 01767 680551 or email campaigns@rspb.org.uk