We’re delighted to be one of three charities selected as part of this year’s Times and Sunday Times Christmas Appeal.
Every year, The Times and The Sunday Times launch a Christmas Appeal to raise funds for three charities working to tackle critical issues in the UK and abroad. This year, Whitley Fund for Nature is one of them.
Right now, Whitley Award winners around the world are working tirelessly to protect some of our planet’s most vulnerable wildlife and wild spaces. They are on the frontlines of conservation, safeguarding habitats threatened by commercial interests, working with local communities so that people and wildlife can live side by side, and fighting to save Critically Endangered species on the brink of extinction.
“Nature’s best defenders are the people who live alongside it,” states WFN Founder Edward Whitley. “People who are embedded in the local communities and ecosystems they protect, and who are achieving extraordinary results, often against all odds. We’re very proud to have been chosen as one of The Times Christmas charities, and to bring their stories to a new audience.”
For WFN and our network of over 230 conservation leaders, this is a moment to celebrate, and to recognise the incredible work Whitley Award winners are doing to protect our natural world. The funds raised will help WFN to continue supporting locally led conservation, channelling resources to where they’re needed most.
NATURE CAN’T WAIT
Whitley Award winners have collectively helped protect 45 million hectares of critical habitat, restored over 750,000 hectares, and shaped over 200 national and international policies to strengthen environmental protection. 87% of projects funded by WFN have reported a reduction in threats such as poaching and deforestation.
Yet the need for conservation funding has never been greater. Last year, we received a record number of applications from prospective Whitley Award winners seeking catalytic funding for their work. Our network of winners keeps growing too, and they need sustained support to scale up and respond to a fast-changing conservation landscape.
SUPPORT THE APPEAL
We believe that protecting and restoring the natural world requires sustained investment in people. With the help of our funders and partners, we find and back new generations of conservation leaders – people with deep local knowledge, proven solutions, and the drive to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises with the urgency our planet needs.
Over the next few weeks, The Times and The Sunday Times will be sharing stories from our conservation network and conversations with some of our longstanding ambassadors. To kick off, take a minute to read a new interview with WFN Ambassador Miranda Richardson.
Thank you to The Times and The Sunday Times for shining a light on the work of WFN and our conservation partners, and to every supporter who makes it possible.
Donate to the Times Christmas Appeal Read more about the Appeal
Photo credit: Global Penguin Society
