Guest blog by RSPB Chief Executive, Mike Clarke
In an age of austerity, this is what we have been told by politicians, their pollsters and editors in the media. But I just don't buy it.
Over the last few years, the RSPB has devoted a lot of time and effort to listening to people - people who quite clearly see nature as part of their lives.
And, from their lifestyle choices, TV viewing and leisure activities, what is clear is that there's a lot of them and that they do care about the natural world. Very much. And, if anything, their numbers are growing.
But what is also clear is that they have little faith in decision-makers doing the right thing for the long-term public good, for people and planet.
And that is where the RSPB and other charities come in. The parlous state of nature means that there is an urgent need for the nature conservation community to take a message to a wider section of the public, to people who do care about nature and equip them with ways of taking action in their own lives in ways that are relevant to them - in short, to Give Nature a Home.
That is precisely what the RSPB has been doing, and I am delighted to say that people are responding by lending their support to our charity. Indeed, I am delighted to tell you today that more wonderful people like you have joined the RSPB than ever before.
Our latest official membership count for the financial year that ends in March 2015 is at an all-time high of 1,159,094 members. That's a very solid increase of 44,000 members in the last year.
I am delighted because the one thing Nature needs to solve the problems causing its decline is more public support for action. So I am enormously grateful to you all for the support you have given to us, to our many volunteers and colleagues for their hard work, and to all our members who have spread the word. It is a message that needs to keep on growing.