It's not too late to bring our wildlife back
Sadly, since we first met Badger, Ratty and friends in 1908, the UK has become one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and one in seven species is at risk of extinction. The Wildlife Trusts have re-imagined Wind in the Willows in 2019, shedding light on some of the problems our wildlife faces every day. We've reached a point where our natural world is in a critical condition and needs our help to put it into recovery.
It's not too late to bring our wildlife back, but we must act now!
Badger, Ratty, Mole and Toad
Watch our favourite characters as they begin their search for a wilder future
A bit more about the Wilder Future Campaign
About the campaign
The Wilder Future campaign is about advocating for political change, was well as asking people to take small 'personal' actions where they live to help wildlife. The idea is that these individual actions add up to something much bigger across the country.
The Wildlife Trusts want to create a tipping point of 1 in 4 people taking action.
We have therefore commissioned a film - 'Wind & the Willows: A Wild Story', which will be screened in cinemas from 28th March 2019, to reach and inspire the public to take action.
Politically, the campaign is calling for the creation of Nature Recovery Networks to better protect and join-up important places for wildlife. In England, the campaign is calling for the Government's upcoming Environment Bill to include measures to drive the creation of these Nature Recovery Networks. Due to the devolved nature of environmental issues, we are also campaigning for a separate Environment Bill in Scotland, while in Wales we are asking for a Sustainable Land Management Bill.
The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame wrote Wind in the Willows just over a hundred years ago. Since then, many of the UK's wild places and the plants and animals that depend on them have been lost. For example: 97% or lowland meadows and the beautiful wildflowers, insects, mammals and birds they support have disappeared; 80% of our beautiful purple heathlands have vanished.
Kenneth Grahame's Ratty - the water vole - is the UK's most rapidly declining mammal and has been lost from 94% of places where they were once prevalent, and their range is continuing to contract. Toad is also finding that times are very tough: he has lost nearly 70% of his own kind in the last 30 years alone - and much more than that in the last century.
How you can take action
© Elliott Neep
Why is wildlife in trouble?
Wildlife is under threat. Habitats are fragmented, there isn’t enough space for wildlife to move around, and many of our plants and animals are declining.
© Wildlife Trusts
Join the camapign
Join our campaign for a #WilderFuture and receive simple actions you can take for nature’s recovery.
© The Wildlife Trusts
Approaching your MP
By writing to your MP or meeting them in person, you can help them to understand the part they have to play in stopping the loss of wildlife and creating a #WilderFuture.
© The Wildlife Trusts
Together we can make the next chapter for wildlife a happier one. Join us to put nature into recovery