What are the biggest challenges faced by DSWF as a charity and how do you overcome them?
We understand that wildlife is not at the top of everyone’s giving list – it can be difficult for people to relate to wild elephants, rhinos, tigers … they are not part of people’s normal, everyday life experiences. But, there is a wider and growing realization that this beautiful world of ours will not survive if we continue to plunder its natural resources by destroying swathes of forests and wild spaces, polluting it and driving wildlife to extinction.
Our education programmes in the UK and overseas provide us with amazing and positive feedback from children and their teachers.
The other huge challenge to wildlife survival is the illegal trade in wildlife and that’s why we work so hard both at a grass roots level; by training and equipping anti-poaching and park protection teams, and on the world stage by campaigning for the closure of domestic ivory markets and the end of the trade in tiger parts. The message that saving wildlife saves us all is vital and it’s one that I think young people are really beginning to take to their hearts.
Can we as members of the public do anything that genuinely helps preserve the natural world?
Of course. It is only through collective efforts that we can drive change. From careful consideration of what we consume – from the food we eat and the items we buy – to providing financial and physical support for conservation (by donating or volunteering) we can all help to make a difference. Being optimistic about the successes we can collectively create is vital too.
What has been your best natural world experience to date?
There have been so many! As an artist working in the field my experience of wildlife and the natural world has been a cornerstone of my existence. Sitting with the wild elephants at Savuti in Botswana as they dust bathed in the setting sun was unforgettable.
Who is your personal Natural World Hero and why?
Like many, I admire David Attenborough for introducing so many people to the natural world through film and television. Education is at the heart of protecting the natural world.
Where is your dream natural world destination that you haven’t visited yet but would like to?
Antarctica. One of my daughters went with her family last year and the experience and photographs they shared when they came home was magical.
What natural world insight would you like to leave us with?
The natural world is too precious and too beautiful to lose. Without wildlife and wild spaces the world would be a bleak place. We must protect it.