Nature Conservation. Peter Marren

Committee, under Bruce Campbell, did its best to ‘make people of all ages conscious of their responsibility for the natural environment’ (Stamp 1969). Its publications were a monthly broadsheet, Habitat, and a twice-yearly News for Naturalists.

      Despite its influence, the Council for Nature was always short of money. By the mid-1970s, it was ailing badly, and four years later had ceased to function. Its publication Habitat was continued by the Council for Environmental Conservation (CoEnCo, now the Environment Council) while its function as an umbrella body was taken on by the newly founded Wildlife Link, then a committee of CoEnCo under Lord (Peter) Melchett. Wildlife Link scored an early success with the Wildlife and Countryside Act (see next chapter). In 1993 the name was changed to Wildlife and Countryside Link to emphasise its wider remit.

      Secretariat: 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP.

      Chair: Tony Burton (2001).

Members of Wildlife and Countryside Link

Bat Conservation Trust

British Association of Nature Conservationists

British Ecological Society

British Mountaineering Council

British Trust for Conservation Volunteers

Butterfly Conservation

Council for British Archaeology

Council for National Parks

Council for the Protection of Rural England(CPRE)

Earthkind

Environmental Investigation Agency

Friends of the Earth

Greenpeace

Herpetological Conservation Trust

International Fund for Animal Welfare

Mammal Society

Marine Conservation Society

National Trust

Open Spaces Society

Plantlife

Ramblers’ Association

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

The Shark Trust

Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

Whale & Dolphin ConservationSociety

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust

The wildlife trusts

Woodland Trust

World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Worldwide Fund for Nature – UK

Young People’s Trust for the Environment& Nature Conservation

Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales)

Zoological Society of London

       The special interest groups

       The British Association of Nature Conservationists (BANC)

      BANC was founded in 1979, and acts mainly as a forum for practising conservationists and planners through its influential journal, Ecos. Something of a trade journal, Ecos usually contains short articles on a wide range of conservation-related subjects, as well as news and reviews. BANC also holds conferences on particular topics, and publishes pamphlets on issues ranging from conservation ethics to feminism.

       The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV)

      Established as the Conservation Corps in 1959, the BTCV organises practical tasks for people who wish ‘to roll up their sleeves and get involved’. A sister organisation was formed in Scotland in 1984. It runs some 200 courses each year for up to 130,000 volunteers on habitat management, such as footpath maintenance, fencing, hedge laying and dry-stone walling, along with wildlife gardening and developing leadership skills. It also works in partnership with local authorities and with government schemes such as the Millennium Volunteers. BTCV organises weekend residential projects and ‘Natural Break’ working holidays; for example, 29,000 volunteers assisted the National Trust to the tune of 1.7 million hours in 1994-95, ‘the equivalent of one thousand full-time staff’. Among its publications is The Urban Handbook, a guide to community environmental work. Its hands-on, open air, communal approach appeals particularly to the young. Its quarterly newsletter is Greenwork. Mission: ‘Our vision is of a world where people value their environment and take practical action to improve it.’

      Head office: 36 St Mary’s Street, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 OEU.

       British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)

      The BTO was established in 1933 as a research and advisory body on wild birds. Its main task is the long-term study and monitoring of British bird populations and their relationship with the environment. From just one full-time administrator in the 1960s, it has grown into a leading scientific institution with a staff of over 50 and an annual income of nearly £2 million, mainly from funds and appeals. The Trust’s work is a fusion of ‘amateur enthusiasm and professional dedication’, its members acting as a skilled but unpaid workforce. Among its many schemes are the long-running Common Bird Census and its replacement, the Breeding Bird Survey, which it runs jointly with the RSPB and JNCC. Other projects include a Nest Record Scheme, the Seabird Monitoring Programme, special surveys of wetland, grassland and garden birds, the census of special species such as skylark and nightingale, and the administration of the National Bird Ringing Scheme. The Trust also helps organise special events such as the recent Norfolk Birdwatching Festival, and contributes to bird study internationally. It publishes the world-renowned journal Bird Study, currently reaching its 48th volume, as well as a bimonthly newsletter, BTO News, and a quarterly magazine, Bird Table. Membership: 11,490. Mission: to ‘promote and encourage the wider understanding, appreciation and conservation of birds through scientific studies using the combined skills and enthusiasm of its members, other birdwatchers and staff.

      Address: The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU.

      Director: Dr Jeremy Greenwood.

       Butterfly Conservation

      Although we have so few species compared with most other European countries, butterflies are next to birds in popularity. In 1968 the British Butterfly Conservation Society (BBCS) was formed by Thomas Frankland and Julian Gibbs with the purpose of saving rare species from extinction and promoting research and public interest in butterflies. Growth was slow at first, but the Society took on the responsibility for the Butterfly Monitoring Scheme in 1983, and acquired its first nature reserve three years later. Since shortening its name to ‘Butterfly Conservation’ in 1990, the society has acquired considerable in-house expertise. With 10,000 members, it is said to be the largest conservation body devoted to insects in all Europe.

      With an office in Dorset, probably today’s richest county for butterflies, Butterfly Conservation has a network of 31 branches throughout