Do you remember the moment you first fell in love with nature?
Perhaps it was spotting a butterfly dancing through a meadow or hearing beautiful birdsong on a morning walk. These moments stay with us for life. They shape how we see the world, and how we care for it. Today, we are nature’s voice. But who will be the voice of a greener tomorrow?
Many children today are growing up without these experiences. Some have never climbed a tree or peered into a pond. They’re losing their connection to the natural world, and nature is losing its future protectors.
Usually, we ask you to help protect nature today. Now, we’re asking for your help to protect its future, by ensuring nature has a voice for generations to come.
We need to raise £95,000 by 25 August 2025 to continue delivering our Wilder Education programme for the next six months. Your support will help thousands of children across Kent explore nature, learn to love it and grow up ready to protect it.
"When I was about seven, I spotted a large bird in my garden. Neither my dad nor I knew what this bird was, but we looked it up and we identified our garden visitor – it was a cuckoo! This moment sparked a love for nature and learning and every day that summer I sat by the window identifying each bird that came to my garden. If it hadn’t been for that cuckoo, I may not be where I am today, supporting future generations in their own journeys of discovery.”
Tom White, Education Manager
A Wilder Education helps us shape the voices of tomorrow
Our Wilder Education programme reaches more than 5,000 children each year. From toddlers attending Forest School to secondary students exploring green careers, our work supports children from 18 months to 18 years old.
Whether they are spotting mini beasts lurking in our ponds, dissecting owl pellets to study food
chains or spying a herd of free-roaming bison in Canterbury, the moments cultivated during Wilder Education sessions are teeming with opportunities to fall in love with nature.
For many, this is their first experience of the natural world. Some have never stepped foot in a woodland. Others come from urban schools where nature feels distant.
"We will be physically, mentally and spiritually impoverished if our children are deprived of contact with the natural world.”
Sir David Attenborough, President Emeritus The Wildlife Trusts
The need has never been greater
Nature is in crisis. Without you, its voice will be silenced.
- Less than 10% of children regularly play in wild places, compared with 50% a generation ago.
- More than 80% of British children cannot identify a bumblebee or an oak leaf.
- In 57% of schools, teachers lack the training and resources to take learning outdoors.
We know how to change this. But we need your help to do it.
WE MUST RAISE £95,000 BY 25 AUGUST TO PROTECT NATURE'S VOICE
Education is at the very heart of conservation; that’s why we have invested in teaching about wildlife and wild spaces. Every education session we deliver is subsidised to help everyone access nature, but that means we must fundraise to cover costs. We invest over £190,000 every year to provide a Wilder Education across Kent. And now, we’re looking to secure the next six months.
With your help, we can continue reaching children in nurseries, schools, colleges and home education groups. We can provide resources for teachers and outdoor learning environments and host Forest School sessions. We can grow the Wilder Kent Awards, helping more schools take real, practical action for wildlife. We can help children of all ages and abilities access and learn about nature.
This isn’t a service we can afford to lose; too much depends on it.
Without helping children to grow this passion, we will have no one to pass the baton to. Our voices will fall silent.
£15
could spark a lifelong love of wildlife in a toddler through their first nature tots experience
£50
could equip teachers with the confidence and tools to bring nature into everyday lessons with the support of an expert Wilder Education tutor
£150
could transform a grey school corner into a buzzing haven for wildlife - a place for children to learn through nature
Nature needs a voice now and tomorrow.
Will you help break the silence?
Many of our members tell us they care deeply about protecting Kent’s wildlife for future generations. You’ve walked our reserves, supported our work and stood up for nature time and time again. Now, we need your help to Reconnect and Protect Nature’s Voice.
