My book, Reflections, suggests that we should all see ourselves as investors in wildlife conservation when we spend our money on donations, merchandise or memberships with wildlife non-governmental organisations – and see this recent blog post.
I wrote to The National Trust on 16 March asking them for information that I would consider when making my investment – see here.
National Trust replied on 11 April, thus:
‘Morning Mark
Thanks for your thought provoking blog and apologies for the delay in my response. There is too much going on to do justice in a response but we would be delighted to show you some work on the ground and talk through our wider approach. We will even have cake.
Am I right in remembering that you live in Devon? If so, a visit to Holnicote would be a good place.
All best wishes’
This is not an answer to my questions and I don’t live anywhere near Devon. What it is, is the type of brush off that government departments would offer to public critics – no public response but a private meeting.
I’ve written back to The National Trust and eventually I will end up writing to the Chair and Council members if the staff don’t feel motivated to answer my questions. Makes you wonder how much of my £91 would be spent on wildlife conservation, doesn’t it?
I have had more informal feedback from NT staff – some think it outrageous that a potential (and ex) member should ask questions before handing over nearly £100 when there are plenty of other organisations to which I could donate my money, and others think I was too soft on the NT and doubt whether the organisation would feel comfortable about the public seeing the answers to my questions. Both are to be expected.
I can easily keep more than one of these running at any time so I’ll soon be writing to other wildlife charities with my questions too.
Lest there be any doubt, I won’t be rejoining the National Trust yet.
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I live in Devon .Can I have your cake?
I think you are being a little harsh – it’s a friendly reply offering to meet somewhere convenient (OK, not in Devon) and talk it through with you. As long as it’s not confidential, why not accept and you can tell us what they say and what you think of it?
Please publish your questions. As members, we might want to ask them similar before our next renewal. But I see NT doing a lot of conservation work.
For example, at our nearest NT gardens (Dyffryn), they are doing a biodiversity audit. One of our local invertebrate experts has already found 54 species of bee – some pretty uncommon.
Paul – I did consider not replying to your comment for as long as NT didn’t respond to mine, but I couldn’t be that rude.
Here are my questions https://markavery.info/2024/03/16/being-a-conservation-investor-2-the-national-trust/
Hi Mark – thanks for this. Firstly, let me apologise for getting your location wrong. I had a memory of hearing you talk about hearing chiffchaffs in your garden in Devon a few weeks ago.
Secondly, I really had no intention of brushing you off. But rather there is a lot of nature work going on in the Trust that I would love to show you and get your thoughts on. And there is still loads to do and I thought it would be richer to explore that in conversation, in a place to help bring our thinking to life. I would be really happy for that conversation to be open. You mentioned the Peak in your blog – perhaps that would be a good place? There is cake there too.
Mark, why don’t you accept the meeting with the NT staff member(s) and ask that it is ‘on the record’ and that you would like to blog about the main points. You could ask for some direct information in advance (how many staff are called rangers or countryside managers, what support is there for staff on the ground through specialists, such as ecologists, what area of SSSI & ASSI does the NT manage, what is the area of priority habitats, how are rare species faring (birds even?!). Annual Reports never have that level of detail, but the NT might well have it to hand?
Hi Mark,
Please do meet the NT, maybe at Wicken Fen, and ask for replies to your questions so that you can give them a chance to put their side of this story to you. If you don’t meet, it feels like a missed opportunity.
I will admit to being a transactional member of the NT but I’m interested in their conservation efforts in historic houses and parks, as well as in wildlife. I do feel that the former eclipses the latter but hope that my membership will create some positive good, as well as meaning I can visit some wonderful sites with decent scones. I might be being naive but as NT are a major landowner, relative to the others in The 28, I want to engage with them and hope that my voice will be heard.