Wildlife Friends: Volunteering for good
Paul’s wildlife work
From litter-picking to creating wildlife habitats in his garden, and even transporting injured animals to the vets, RSPCA ‘Wildlife Friend’ Paul Bateman is urging nature lovers to Spring into action.
A lifelong passion for animals and the natural world is what led Paul, who lives in Goole, East Yorkshire, to explore volunteering opportunities with the RSPCA. A former national park ranger, Paul is also involved with badger protection groups in his local area, as well as specific projects with the police to deliver wildlife crime awareness work for the local community.
Paul said: “I’ve always been passionate about wildlife and I’m really enjoying becoming more and more involved with the RSPCA as a Wildlife Friend.
Thanks to People’s Postcode Lottery players
Paul is also a player of People's Postcode Lottery. Thanks to him and many other Postcode Lottery players thousands of charities in local communities are receiving vital support. This includes the RSPCA, which was awarded £400,000 through Postcode Animal Trust.
The funding arrived just as RSPCA celebrates 200-years of changing animals’ lives for the better and it will support a breadth of work done by the charity.
This includes expanding RSPCA's popular micro-volunteering scheme ‘Wildlife Friends’. The scheme challenges people, like Paul, and their families, to take quick action to help wildlife in their local communities.
I recently won my first prize from People's Postcode Lottery so it's really apt that this came just as the RSPCA received the funding. Just knowing that the money raised by players like me, goes to such good causes like the RSPCA makes it worthwhile.
Wildlife Friends
Paul, who lives with his partner, his youngest son and two family cats - both named Meg, also volunteers as an Animal Rescue Volunteer for the charity. He says:
“I enjoy every aspect of helping animals, from the work alongside the police and RSPCA, to the weekly litter-pick in the playing fields behind my house. These are all things I am very proud to do to help animals.”
I couldn’t recommend becoming an RSPCA Wildlife Friend enough for those who are inspired to go a step further.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are or where you live, anyone can become part of the RSPCA’s one million movement for animals by becoming a Wildlife Friend and taking simple actions in their own outdoor spaces and in their communities, from taking injured small mammals to a vet or wildlife centre, to creating habitats in their outside space.”
I’ve already encouraged a few other people to sign up and we meet up in small groups to carry out litter picks, and have plans to hold a ‘build a birdbox’ session between us too. I’d encourage everyone to sign up and start with small steps, because every little bit makes a difference to wild animals.