If you’ve need to buy a gift for someone who loves animals, and wildlife in particular, and British wildlife most of all, then you could buy them a gift membership to the Wildwood Trust.

The centre in Kent will be featured in Paul O'Grady's programme, The Great Escape, tonight 9 December 2020 at 8:30, when Paul explores different parts of Kent. 

The Wildwood Trust was opened as a centre of excellence in conservation in 1999 and it became a registered charity in 2005.  

Today, it has about 40 acres of ancient woodland, with bears (yes, honestly), wolves, bison deer, foxes, red squirrels, wild board, lynx, wild horse, badgers and beavers, to name a few!

In 2015 the charity opened a park at Escot in Devon.

For it is committed to saving Britain’s threatened wildlife, and as such you could give a gift membership to support the Trust in its work.

There are different types of annual membership:  individual, joint and family, and they start at £48.00

Membership benefits….

Join as a Wildwood member for unlimited visits to both of the parks in Kent and Devon, and to support the Trust’s work.

The charity is dedicated to preserving British wildlife so every penny you give goes towards:

As a conservation charity dedicated to preserving British wildlife, every penny you give goes towards the upkeep of the park, looking after the animals and the conservation projects to save some of Britain’s most threatened species.


Visit the Wildwood Trust's website here

Calling all cat lovers!

Did you know that national cat charity Cats Protection have a membership scheme?  Well, they do, and you can give a membership to someone who loves cats and help the charity care for all the cats in their care, and reach out to educate the public in all matters cat!

Members receive The Cat magazine four times a year. 
I love receiving mine through the post!

Image © Cats Protection

Amongst other benefits, members receive the excellent magazine The Cat four times a year.  I'm a member of Cats Protection (having been a volunteer for them before they moved) and my husband was always wondering if I was going to bring home a lot of friends for our cat, Trouble.  To do such a think wouldn't have gone down well with husband or cat, so I had to content myself with lots of cuddles there!  Ours was not into cuddles, really - he loved being stroked but not cuddled.  

I did grow cat nip in the garden, not just because  our cat Trouble liked it but because I would take some to the cats who were at the re-homing centre.  They loved it - cats do adore cat nip, they love the smell.

The Cat magazine is great;  it's full of news, information, advice and tips and - of course - stunning photos of cats of all ages.   It's also good to know that there are lots of fellow cat lovers doing what they can to help cats up and down the country.

Make a Difference to cats and give a cat lover a membership!
Image © Cats Protection

By the way, Cats Protection have launched an online course which is free to help you discover more about cats.   On Feline Focus, (you need to scroll down the page), there's an Understanding Cats Needs online course for people of all ages, 11+.  There's also careers information for anyone wanting to work with cats.

Visit Cats Protection website here.

Miaow for now!

I wanted to tell you about the John Muir Trust, as they have a gift membership scheme. 

The conservation charity is dedicated to the experience, protection and repair of wild places.

It owns and cares for some of the finest wild places in Scotland including the summit of Ben Nevis, part of the Cuillin on Skye, and it recently took on the land management of Glenridding Common in the Lake District in England.

Equally, you may prefer to adopt an acre and protect wild mountain landscapes by adopting an acre on four iconic mountains – Ben Nevis, Schiehallion, Blà Bheinn on Sky or Ladhar Bheinn in Knoydart.

The John Muir Trusts works to:

1. To protect wild land, speaking out when it comes under threat and working to influence the policies which affect it.  In 2014, its campaigning work meant the Scottish Government introduced better wild land protection measures – and that meant adopting Wild Land Areas into planning policy
   
   
2. To manage land, rewilding habitats, managing deer and monitoring biodiversity.  It has to manage deer so that nature can support deer populations.  In 25 years, the Trust has achieved a ten fold increase in native tree cover on its land on Knoydart – and that will encourage wildlife to come back and improve biodiversity
   
   
3. To connect people and nature – it helps thousands of people get out into nature every year through the John Muir Award – and many of them wouldn’t have the chance, otherwise

One way to support this work is by becoming a member and joining 11,000 like-minded people who also care about the natural world.  Or give a gift membership! 

A gift membership gives the recipient

• A welcome pack with recent publications, a car sticker and bookmark
• Regular mailings during the year, with 2 copies of the Journal and of Members’ News and an Annual Report, PLUS invites to work parties and events!
• Exclusive discounts

• Individual
• Joint/Family
• Individual Concession (that’s for full-time students, senior citizens, and unwaged)
• Joint/Family Concession (for full-time students, senior citizens and unwaged)
• Group

 You can pay by direct debit monthly or a one off, and there’s a lifetime membership as well. 

 Find out more and help the John Muir Trust protect wild places today!