Here are a couple of stories from this week to give you a spring in your step before Chris Packham's Walk for Wildlife on Saturday.
First, we reported on Wednesday that the UK bittern population has reached an all time high with 188 males recorded at 82 sites this year. This compares to 164 at 71 sites in 2017 and, of course, the low of 11 males in 1997.
Second, the SAVE partnership (which includes the RSPB) celebrated the hugely significant milestone in the ambition to recover the critically endangered white-rumped vultures. This week, 12 birds were released into the wild in Nepal including the first eight birds which had been bred in captivity. This follows the release last year of birds reared (but not hatched) in captivity and is another important step in establishing secure wild populations now that the veterinary use of diclofenac (used in cattle and toxic to vultures) has been stopped in Nepal.
There is a danger that we take these positive conservation stories for granted. But it is worth remembering that success comes through...
...identifying the problem (such as loss of habitat or toxicity of a drug) before...
...developing a plan to come up with a solution (such as creating new habitat away from the areas vulnerable to sea level rise or banning drugs harmful to birds) which allows...
...willing partners to help role out the solution (requiring growing expertise about reedbed ecology or creating vulture safe zones which are free of diclofenac) backed up by...
...political commitment (either through establishing targets for recovery or finding replacement drugs which are harmless to vultures) which must be lead to...
...the right laws and funding all underpinned by...
...expertise, dedication and a lot of hard work by brilliant people (in both these cases over more than twenty years).
So, this weekend, when you walk, remember what it takes to restore nature. Then commit to playing your part not just this weekend, but be in it for the long haul.
Because that is what nature needs.
Bittern image by John Bridges (rspb-images.com) and white-rumped vulture image by Rajendra Gurung from Bird Conservation Nepal