How your membership helps

I always love meeting the RSPB’s members. Almost six years ago, when I first learned that I had this job, I happened to mention it to someone I met on a walk. They turned out to be a long-term supporter of the charity and the emotional connection that they felt with the organisation and its work was palpable as they wished me luck in the new role. They seemed almost as excited as I was!

At last summer’s inspiring Restore Nature Now march in London I was constantly approached by people wanting to offer not only their support, but their views and even some challenges to the policies and direction of the RSPB. As I listened, it was obvious that each cared passionately about the RSPB and its cause. It was an organisation and community in which they felt fully invested.

Members have been at the heart of the RSPB since its creation. The women that created the RSPB used their grassroots networks of friends and connections to campaign against the use of feathers in the fashionable hat trade. These first members finally succeeded in changing the law and in July 1921 the Plumage Act passed, banning the import of plumage – a landmark moment.

With a current membership of almost 1.2 million, we now have more members than all the UK political parties combined. That’s why governments should listen to us. We represent the views of a large swathe of the voting public, united by a love of nature and a desire to see it protected and restored. Our membership is a broad church, drawn from across the entire political spectrum. And that gives us a credibility that opens doors as we seek to speak up for nature.

Because of our membership, we are also one of the biggest civil society organisations in the country, and the role of civil society matters. It plays a vital part in our democracy by giving people a voice outside of business, government and political parties. We can hold decision makers to account, campaign for change, and help protect the birds and wildlife that we all love. In times of uncertainty, it is a shared cause that helps us stay connected, encourages openness, and reminds us that we all have a part to play in shaping the world around us.

And we are only as strong as our membership. Like any long-term relationship, maintaining it takes work. We must listen and be relevant to people’s lives. You, our members, need to feel that what we are doing matters. That is why we are increasingly engaging the membership in some of our most important decisions.

For example, members fed into our latest 10-year organisational strategy to make sure that what we are doing and how we do it makes sense to the people that so crucially support us. And we value talking to those of you who live locally about the improvements and changes that we sometimes need to make at our nature reserves to keep them operating effectively. Our members are amazing and together we can achieve so much. Thank you for being a part of the RSPB.