FILLANTHROPY
We’ve sent £29,064 to the Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants so far. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do.
We’re members of 1% for the Planet. Check them out. Membership of 1% FTP is a commitment to accountability, partnership building & doing better for people & the planet. What’s the best nation in the world? Donation!
We like the way Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet explains it, “Like rent, taxes and suppliers, we should pay the planet.”
It just makes sense.
As members, we have pledged to give 1% of Fill Refill annual revenue back to environmental nonprofits working on urgent climate issues. We’ve chosen The Wildlife Trust BCN as our non-profit partner so you can refill 1% better! Since becoming members we’ve donated £29,064 towards their mission; helping to create a wilder future by protecting & restoring nature & wild spaces for the benefit of people & wildlife.
THE WONDERFUL WORK OF THE WILDLIFE TRUST BCN
We thought it would be cool to find out how The Wildlife Trust BCN have been able to use the donations we’ve made over the last few years. Here’s what they told us…
CAN YOU DIG IT?
First up, the Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust Reserves team have been able to do some much needed reedbed restoration at their Stortons Pits nature reserve. They hired an aquatic digger to clear out channels to create open water and a reedbed mosaic. These habitat improvements will help loads of species that use the waterways and reedbeds including Water Rail, Otters, Reed Buntings and Reed Warblers as well as many invertebrate species. Pretty cool.
REFILL-A-BULL
We’re over the moon that they’ve also been able to purchase a NEW BULL(!) which supports their conservation grazing programme. He’s called MAJESTIC (a cool name which always has us humming the Ernie Maresca tune, sung by Dion & the Belmonts) and he makes a great addition to their grazing cattle. A spokesperson told us this,
“Thanks to the support from Fill Refill, last summer the highland cows at the Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust Reserve were introduced to a new English Longhorn bull, nicknamed ‘Majestic’ by the livestock team. Majestic is an important next step in the use of conservation grazing at the Northants reserves, which is essential to reserve management. Pregnant mothers and growing calves will provide extra grazing pressure in the summer months on reserves like Summer Leys, where cattle grazing is essential to creating the right nesting conditions for wading birds like redshank. (They create their nests in the tussocks that remain). Conservation grazing is also essential in spring grassland management, knocking back the scrub to allow precious grasses to grow through and keeping nutrients down to build wildflower diversity. Previously, this grazing would have been achieved by the large wild herbivores now lacking in these landscapes.”
At the time of writing, the Wildlife Trust team were chuffed that six of their nine cattle were in calf. Good going! If all works out, they should have those calves by April 2023. This conservation grazing method will be trialled across the Northants reserves through 2023 with the hope of moving the cattle into Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire in the future.
Apparently, the donations we’ve made have not only helped with the initial purchase of Majestic but also with the ongoing costs of managing him and keeping him in great condition! Dooby-do yeah. Let’s all do the majestic, yeah majestic yeah!
THIS IS NOT A DRILL
The Wildlife Trust team in Northamptonshire have also been able to pick up a whole bunch of electric tools to help with habitat management work, which helps them lower their carbon footprint and continue to lead the way in sustainable practises. Cool tools include electric chainsaws, brushcutters and hedge trimmers. They have also been able to invest in new fencing for reserves where it needed replacing due to dilapidation.
REFILL BETTER
We’re so happy that through doing what we do at Fill Refill, in collaboration with a whole bunch of fill seekers, stockists & conscious businesses around the UK, we get to help The Wildlife Trust to carry on their great work. We can’t wait to see what cool stuff they do next. We can’t wait to visit Majestic, the highland cows & their calves in Spring, to see how they’ve been getting on!
If you want to support The Wildlife Trust BCN directly, you can visit wildlifebcn.org or find your local Trust here.
