Revelling in diversity

One of the great joys of the UK nature conservation scene is the rich mix of organisations that you get to work with.

There are societies, charities and local groups that work on pretty much every taxonomic group including algae, amphibians, badgers, bats, bees, bryophytes, bugs, butterflies, cetaceans, dragonflies, fungi, hedgehogs, plants (x2), sharks, snails, spiders, trees, oh and birds.  There are also 47 wildlife trusts and an organisation dedicated to marine conservation.

I think that this diversity is worth celebrating.

Each organisation is full of people that love (and know a lot about) nature.  And each organisation contributes hugely to our knowledge of the natural world.

To some, the sector might look messy and in desperate need of rationalisation.

To others (including me), the sector is brilliant because of its diversity. Without it, we would not be able to harness the expertise and enthusiasm of those with very specific interests - many of whom give their time for free.  Without it, we would not be able to report on the state of nature.  And without it, nature conservation and perhaps our society would be poorer.

This is why I urge you to go in search of something new and join one of these great organisations. 

But those that donate to these organisations might expect us to work better together to make sure their money works hard for nature conservation.  I agree.  That's why we are trying to deepen collaboration between organisations and ensure that there is a clearer conservation strategy behind which we can collectively rally.  This doesn't need to be written down but it is helpful to roughly know where we are heading and that we are all, more or less, going down the same path together.  

This is why we are developing a shared agenda for future species monitoring, why we are increasingly sharing data and ideas for research, why we are working together better on nature reserve management, why we are working together to restore wildlife at a landscape scale and why we want to collaborate to influence others to do more for nature.

Yes, at times, organisations might sharpen their elbows and feel competitive to one another - mainly regarding media profile.  But the real competition comes from organisations that are happy to trash the environment in pursuit of other goals.  Given the ever increasing pressures on the natural world, we need solidarity within the sector.  And, I believe this solidarity is growing which can only be a good thing.   

The investment of effort in building partnerships is worth it.  Together we can and will be mighty.