"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead, American anthropologist, 1901-1978
National Tree Week takes place from 22nd November to 30th November in 2025. Celebrate all things tree and branch out with these leafy activities! National Tree Week is organised by the Tree Council - it's the largest tree celebration in the UK and it launches the start of the winter tree planting season.
This is a great opportunity to do something positive for trees in your area.
10 Tree Things to Do
Send a tree through the post as a gift! Yes, honestly. There’s a tree (or a bush) for everyone even in a hallway or on a balcony. Rather than send flowers which don’t last, send a tree or bush which will last longer. Some trees/bushes even produce things you can eat…. Tree2mydoor.com is to trees what a florist is to flowers so this Christmas why not send a tree as a gift?
Hunt for ancient trees Help the hunt for Ancient Trees and help boost the ancient tree inventory. This is a great outdoors activity, aided by the fact you can choose the day (and weather) on which to do it. Your family can go hunting for ancient trees and if you find one, let the Woodland Trust know about it. It helps them lobby to protect ancient trees and care for them, and plan for their proteciton in the future. The Woodland Trust has activities for children to do.
Plant a tree or join a community plant From small trees to the mighty oak, you can plant a tree in your garden or join a community project and enjoy it for years. Get your community planting trees or volunteer to help on a tree planting near you. This is a great way to meet new people and make friends and get all earthy. The Woodland Trust has more information on community planting
There are tree planting campaigns in many countries of the world. For instance, in Australia, the Koala Clancy Foundation is aiming to plant 300,000 trees to help koalas by 2030. Bangalow Koalas are looking to plant 1,000,000 trees by 2030. Trees for Lifein Scotland have a Plant a Tree opportunity so that you can help them transform open hillside into woodland, so restoring the Caledonian Forest.
Who lives in woodland and trees? Wildlife need our woodland and our trees. Discover who lives in our woodlands and trees and our forests. The Woodland Trust has information about who lives there.
Become a tree surgeon This could be a great career for anyone who loves the outdoors life and trees! Tree surgeons plant, they fell, they care for and maintain trees and assess their hazards. You can find more info at the National Careers Service website and The Arboricultural Association has information as well.
Be a tree warden for the Tree Council The Tree Warden Scheme is a national initiative to enable people to play an active role in conserving and enhancing their local trees and woods. The scheme was founded and is co-ordinated by The Tree Council.
Plant a tree in memory My wonderful Dad died in 2013. Birthdays and Christmases are difficult. I felt I wanted to mark events such as this in some way so I’ve started planting a tree in Dad’s memory for these occasions and Father’s Day. t took a while for the idea to surface, but I do smile at the thought of trees being dedicated to Dad all over the world. I try to find a link between each tree and Dad. He was a Winnie the Pooh fan, so I planted a tree in Sussex which is Winnie the Pooh country. Campaign for Trees The Woodland Trust campaigns for Trees – visit their website to see if there are any campaign's you could support. Examples include being a voice for trees and woods, telling the Trust about threats to ancient woods, and taking action in your community. Find out what you can do to help
Visit Trees for Cities Trees for Cities is working to make cities greener places in which to live and visit world wide. There are opportunities to volunteer, either as an individual or a corporate entity. Since 1993, over 70,000 people have planted over 600,000 urban trees in parks, streets, schools and housing estates across the UK, as well as internationally.
Plus....
Why not get use trees in a creative bit of fun? Draw trees or a group of trees; you can always use just pencil and paper - I love Easy Pencil Art Drawing Tutorials; there are great videos there covering all sorts of works, such as trees, landscapes, seascapes and animals!
Or you could do some tree photography... go out and take pictures of different trees and then try identifying them when you get home.
Around the world there are many people who are willing to put their lives on the line in order to protect endangered animals and habitats.
The International Ranger Foundation (IRF) is the official body representing rangers around the world. It was established on 31st July 1992, after a year spent setting up and planning for the establishment and development of the organisation. The aim now is to drive through this development so that there is a professional body of rangers around the world. It's based in Australia. International Ranger Foundation UK is here.
Mokala National Park observing World Ranger Day, South Africa This shows how dangerous the job of being a ranger can be and gives you an insight into the life of a ranger. THANK YOU to rangers, everywhere.
2023 was the first year of the newly set biodiversity framework, with lots of targets to hit. One target was particularly important, that of 30% of the world having effectively managed areas by 2030.
To achieve this, it will be vital to have a professional body of rangers around the world and their numbers will need to increase from 286,000 today to 1.5 million. Wildlife and biodiversity will benefit - as will people, with the economic and social services outcomes that result from such a development.
So the theme for World Ranger Day 2025 is 30 x 30, reflecting target three and the 30 x 30 goal.
The International Ranger Federation has a toolkit on online that we can use, sharing with the hashtags above. There is a lot of information about rangers on their website, so please explore their website. It works with The Thin Green Lineto promote the initiative of World Ranger Day.
World Ranger Day is a chance for all of us to show our appreciation for the work that wildlife rangers and guardians do and offer our support in whatever way we can and to remember those who have died or been injured doing this vital work and to think of the families they leave behind.
The Thin Green Line Foundation says that often rangers' families are left behind without any support. Donations and support give a gift of hope and an urgent lifeline to families left behind.
And it’s good to know that there is something you can do to help wildlife and locals in their communities at the same time, and we thought we’d do a roundup of charities and organisations working to help in this way. Sometimes wildlife rangers are called wildlife guardians.
The Wildlife Ranger Challenge on 20th September 2025
This is a chance to show just how diverse the work rangers do really is! This 21km half marathon is on 20th September 2025 and it's in its sixth year. Over 100 ranger teams who span the varied, diverse terrains of the protected areas in Africa, will take part and compete in a 21km race across their respective landscapes. They will carry kit (22kg of kit (men) and 10kg (women). The event will really raise awreness of why rangers matter, the challenges they face, and to raise funds for frontline conservation efforts. It also helps unite those taking part across Africa. #ForWildlifeRangers
The World Land Trustare releasing a short film, Voices from the Wild, on 31st July 2025 for World Rangers Day. Please find out about their Keepers of the Wild Appeal here. It supports many of the Trust's partner organisations to employ local people as rangers, right into the frontline of conservation.
Fauna and Flora International FFI have an urgent appeal to save the Eastern Lowland Gorilla in the Maiko National Park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Donations could help provide the equipment park rangers need and also build a vital new network of ranger stations. Find out more and donate here.
The Foundation works with ranger groups, ranger associations and conservation partners in over 60 countries. They say it’s estimated that over 1,000 park rangers have been killed in the line of duty over the past 10 years. They are dedicated to providing Rangers worldwide with the assistance they deserve and need.
Ol Pejeta Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a 90,000 acre wildlife conservancy in Kenya. They have 150 rangers who are dedicated to protecting the wildlife there and neighbouring communities. They also have a K9 unit, whose dogs work hard also to protect wildlife.
Project Ranger supports a range of patrols such as horse patrols, foot patrols, motorbike, aerial, truck and K9 patrols. In doing so it protects a number of species in national parks, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, conserved land and wildnerness areas. There are plenty of ways to support their work so visit their website to find out more!
The World Land Trust has a Keepers of the Wild initiative. The rangers are working on the front line of conservation, safeguarding some of the world’s most threatened animals and the crucial habitats in which they live. They protect reserves from poaching and logging, and importantly, link to local communities, building trust, helping to change attitudes and find practical solutions to problems. You can support Keepers of the Wild by making a donation.
The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation works to support rangers in both Asia and Africa. You can support wildlife rangers here and help them conserve nature. Their work includes carrying out anti-poaching and anti-trafficking patrols across national parks, finding and removing wildlife snares and collecting essential data on endangered speices and their habitats. They also work with communities to raise awareness and mitigate wildlife conflict.
This organisation works to save wildlife from extinction through education, anti-poaching and conservation efforts. It does this by using anti-poaching units, awareness and education and on the ground action, working on wildlife’s problems. You can adopt a ranger (also there’s a K9 poacher tracking unit) – find out what the options are to adopt a ranger here.
Virunga National Park is located on the eastern edge of the Congo Basin in Africa, and it's home to over 1,000 species of mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian and a third of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas. It has 750 male and female rangers, all working hard and putting their lives on the line to protect the park and local communities. There's a canine unit as well. Find out more
The Gorilla Organisation has a supporting rangers scheme in the Democratic Republic of Congo and they act as the eyes, ears and voice of the forest. They cut snaes, save injured gorillas, combat the militias running the blood minerals trade, monitor the gorillas’ health and collect vital conservation data every day. Find out more here.
Tigers4ever have anti-poaching patrols in Bandharvagh, India, to protect tigers. They equip forest patrols, provide anti-poaching patrols and provide permanent solutions to water scarcity for wildlife
Become an Orangutan Guardian and help the Orangutan Foundation’s 60 Indonesian staff work on the frontline of conservation in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. Their role is to guard and patrol the forests and rivers, to rescue and monitor the orangutans and to replant and nurture tree saplings. And crucially, they need to gain the trust and support of local communities. Become an Orangutan Guardian!
The Lewa Security Team consists of field rangers, radio operators, gatekeepers, baby rhino keepers, anti-poaching rangers and the tracker dog unit. The Anti-Poaching Rangers and Tracker Dog Unit work day and night to protect wildlife and keep them safe, especially rhinos and elephants. The tracker dog unit has four dogs and their handlers, the dogs act as efficient trackers, as they can pursue suspects for lengthy distances.
Save the Rhino makes sure that ranger teams have the the equipment they need to do their job as safely as possible. It has expanded canine units across the projects it funds, which in turn helps apprehend criminals. Find out more from Save the Rhino
Tusk
The charity Tusk give a Wildlife Ranger Award every year to give international recognition to the men and women who face danger every day to protect the wildlife and its ecosystems in Africa.
There are also rangers in other countries such as Australia and America and the UK, working for organisations such as national parks and they are also essential to protecting the environment and keeping wildlife safe.
And a very big thank you to each and every wildlife ranger working to care for and protect our wildlife and their habitats. And thank you to their families too.
The 2nd February is World Wetlands Day. The day aims to raise awareness about wetlands, and it marks the anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands, which was adopted as an international treaty back in 1971. Back in 1971 on 2 February, the Convention on Wetlands was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar which sits on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
What are wetlands?
Wetlands cover areas such as shores, estuaries, mudflats, floodplains, coastal marshes, local ponds, the bog and pond in your garden, mangrove swamps, seagrass beds, and rivers. They cover a very small of the earth’s surface – and yet they are one of the most important habitats on our planet. WWT has lots of information about these areas - you can click to see it here.
"If rainforests are the lungs of the planet, then wetlands are the lifeblood. As much as we need air to breathe, we need water to live. The conservation of our wetlands is essential to all life on earth.”
In 2025, the theme is Wetlands for our Common Future. Value. Protect. Inspire.
#WetlandsForOurCommonFuture
Raising awareness is critical – most people have heard of forests and rainforests, but fewer have heard of wetlands. Yet they are vital ecosystems. Despite this, the World Wetlands Day website explains that, since the 1700s, almost 90% of the world’s wetlands have been degraded since the 1700s. And we’re losing wetlands 3x faster than forests.
A recent global IPBES assessment identified wetlands as the most threatened ecosystem. This impacts 40% of the world’s plant and animal species that live or breed in wetlands.
Habitat loss: many thousands of hectares have been drained for land by humans for their purposes of housing, industry and agriculture
Pollution: WWT says that 80% of global wastewater gets released into wetlands without being treated. Wetlands are under threat from pollution, fertilisers, pesticides – and yet wetlands can act as natural filters, removing pollutants from the water.
Invasive species such as the common water hyacinth and animals (e.g. the killer shrimp) devastate wetlands. Unfortunately, water provides easy pathways for them to spread and grow.
Our changing climate can cause wetlands to dry out – and this can have a terrible impact on amphibians, migratory birds and corals for instance. But wetlands are carbon sinks – when we destroy wetlands, carbon gets released into the atmosphere.
Development, such as dams, and draining
Why wetlands matter to people:
They provide us with drinking water
They store a third of the world’s carbon emissions
They buffer us from floods and droughts
They are important for our health and wellbeing
Why do wetlands matter to wildlife?
40% of all plant and animal species live or breed here.
Sundarbans National Park (India) is formed of tidal rivers, creeks and canals and supports species such as the single largest population of tiger, and aquatic mammals such as the Irrawaddy and Ganges River dolphins, all under threat.
Mud, mud, glorious mud The power of mud....Preventing climate change Watch this video from WWT on You Tube to find out what mud can do to combat climate change
So what can we all do to help wetland conservation?
WWT can create new wetlands in a few months and years – so your support can really make a difference quickly. But there’s something we can all do to help and you’ll find more links and further resources further down.
Find out why they matter to people and wildlife.
See what you can do at home to help wildlife. Create a (mini) pond in your garden, local area or school - WWT or the RSPB can show you how
Visit a wetland close to you if there is one, and spend time there. Use your senses while you visit. Listen to the sounds you can hear; look at the sights, smell the scents. Connect with them.
Find out which of your local conservation charities are working to protect and restore wetlands. How can you get involved and support them? Many of them will be working on projects which you may be able to get involved with. This could be by volunteering, donating, buying something from their online shop, becoming a member, spreading the word about them - there are lots of ways to help.
#WetlandBiodiversityMatters to see what’s happening
Support an appeal for wetlands somewhere in the world
There are a lot of efforts being made to help protect and restore and create wetlands. For instance, the International Crane Foundation has been working to protect Africa’s wetlands for 30 years. Find out about their work here.
On this World Wetland Day, they are advocating for:
Protection of wetlands
The reduction of human impact to minimise habitat destruction caused by human activity
Supporting crane conservation efforts
Promoting awareness and education
Encouraging sustainabity
Advocating for climate change
Getting involved in citizen science such as birdwatching or local conservation projects to help monitor populations and track their movements - this all helps contribute important details to build up a picture of the status of cranes and other animals
Further Resources
World Wetland Network – a collection of NGOs and Civil Society Groups all working for wetland conservation
Wetland Link International – a support network for wetland education centres which deliver engagement activities on site. The WWT in the UK lead it; it has 350 members over 6 continents!
RAMSAR – The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
World Wetlands Day – held every year on 2 February to raise awareness of the importance of wetlands and how we can all help
The MedWet mission is "to ensure and support the effective conservation of the functions and values of Mediterranean wetlands and the sustainable use of their resources and services". Visit their website here. The Mediterranean Wetlands Initiative brings together 27 Mediterranean and peri-Mediterranean countries, all of which are Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971). Palestine and several organizations and wetland centres are also part of the MedWet Initiative.
If you can sew, or knit or crochet, then a number of animal charities would welcome your help!
You'll find a short list of them at AnimalsCharities.co.uk. The page is called Knitting for Charities but there will be other things you can do to help as well - crochet, sewing - it's just a matter of exploring their information to see what help the charities need.
People all over the world are knitting, sewing and crocheting for animals...My Auntie Susan used to knit blankets for the cats at the local rescue close to where she lived in New Zealand, which is what gave me the idea for the Knitting for Charities page. It's a great way to do something purposeful in those long winter months!
The Giraffe Conservation Foundation reports that they have made efforts to make sure that giraffe numbers in Kenya receive better protection.
The charity has given financial support to the Kenya Wildlife Service and other conservation partners to undertake aerial surveys in northern Kenya.
And good news! The surveys are showing a 30% increase in reticulated giraffe numbers on communal land and private conservancies in the last 6 years.
Meantime, in the south of Kenya, the charity has held the first ever Masai Giraffe Working Group meeting to bring conservation partners together with the Kenya Wildlife Service. The aim was to identify current threats to Masai giraffe and pinpoint measures to protect them.
And there’s more – the charity’s year long surveys in Mwea National Reserve and Ruma National Park show there are double the numbers of Nubian giraffe than previously thought, so this is a great boost to Nubian giraffe there.
There are renewed efforts to update and complete a National Recovery and Action Plan for giraffe in Kenya, held over a two day workshop. The plan will be launched later this year.
Don’t forget – a date for your diary – the 21st June is World Giraffe Day. Why not adopt a giraffe as a gift for someone or for yourself?
