WWF and the RSPB launch a £1 million community fund for nature, supported by Aviva

South West community groups encouraged to apply for new Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund

Aviva, in partnership with WWF and the RSPB, are giving £1 million in funding to support local communities taking action for nature.  Part of the  Save Our Wild Isles campaign, the Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund is calling for applications from community groups in the UK to restore nature in their local areas.

A YouGov poll commissioned for the Save Our Wild Isles campaign revealed that 83% of people in the South West are worried about the state of nature in the UK.

75% of respondents in the South West were worried about the impact nature loss would have on their life – 74% said it would negatively affect their health while 71% said it would negatively affect their family’s health.

From creating community gardens, to protecting local wildlife, the Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund has been designed to help communities around the UK to help bring nature back to life. 

Nature is our life support system. It is beneficial to our own health, wellbeing [1], and it is vital in the fight against climate change. But nature is being pushed to the brink by human activities over the past two centuries. In the last 50 years alone, 38 million birds have vanished from UK skies [2] and 97% of wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s [3], making the UK one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world [4].

Communities across the UK play a crucial part in helping to restore nature, and so WWF, the RSPB and Aviva have come together for the first time to launch the Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund to help communities to take action. 

Kate Norgrove, Executive Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at WWF, said: "We know that the devastating nature loss witnessed across the UK is something the public is worried about, but we also know what needs to be done to turn things around.

"Communities, by harnessing the power of working together, are playing an important role in protecting and restoring nature. We’re excited to be working with the RSPB and Aviva to further help local groups to take action, and we can’t wait to see the results."

Emma Marsh, RSPB Executive Director, said: "Community groups and volunteers are already doing incredible work across the UK to protect and restore our wildlife.

"We’re constantly amazed and inspired by the stories of how people are making a difference – whether it’s engaging with children to make schools wildlife-friendly, taking part in citizen science projects, carrying migrating toads across busy roads, or planting whole orchards.

"Every effort counts. We can’t wait to see how this fund helps create ripples of action throughout the UK. For although nature is in crisis, together we can save it."

Claudine Blamey, Aviva’s Group Sustainability Director, said: "Britain’s natural habitat is heavily depleted and it’s time to change that.

"The Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund can play a crucial role to put the power back in the hands of local communities.

"Working with WWF and the RSPB to restore nature is a vital part of Aviva’s goal to make the UK the world’s most climate-ready large economy, so we are really proud to launch the Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund today."

Rai Lewis, Director at Plant 1 said: "The Save Our Wild Isle crowdfunder is going to be instrumental in helping us deliver our planting objectives in the coming years. Without it, Plant One wouldn't be able to level-up its services to the public. We're on target to create 10,000-strong woodlands in the UK's least canopy-cover county thanks to the match funding provided by this wonderful initiative."

The Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund will give £2 for every £1 raised for each project.

The matching applies to each individual donation up to £250 and with a total match available of £5,000 per community project.