It’s World Wildlife Day on the 3rd of March and a brilliant excuse to connect your colleagues and community with nature.

This World Wildlife Day Do Action plan is for you to share and use to engage your people. It’s teeming with everyday tips and tools that help wildlife.

And the best news of all? No matter how much or how little people know, there are tips and actions for all levels of engagement and understanding.

Why help wildlife?

There’s no way to sugar coat it, nature is in crisis. Since 1970 there has been a whopping 60% decline in animal species globally and in the UK 97% of wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s.

Pledge to encourage wildlife 

New to it

🦋 Leave it: Nature thrives when you leave it bee. Let bits of your green space grow wild. Join No Mow May and plant wildflower seeds to help wildlife. 

🦋 Ledge it No garden? No probs. Grow bee and butterfly friendly plants on your window sill or balcony.

Doing it

🦋 Hedgehog highways Hedgehogs eat the the slugs and snails that eat your veggies and flowers, so build hedgehog highways in your garden.

Done it 

🦋 Seed it Follow these easy instructions for making seed bombs and give them as gifts to urbanites. Drop them on neglected patches of earth for flowers down the line.

🦋 Feed it Build a bird cafe or a nesting box, and encourage insects and worms to attract blackbirds and other flying friends. 

🦋 Don’t dig it Tilling soil disturbs the subterranean habitats and releases carbon into the atmosphere. So if you can, don’t dig. 

Pledge to grow or protect trees 

Whether it’s a robin, a mushroom or an orangutan, trees are homes to many important species. And they also remove carbon from the air, so we like them for that as well.

New to it

🌳 Dig it If you have space, source a tree and plant it.

🌳 Search it Ditch your current search engine and use ecosia to search the web, they plant trees while you search.

Doing it

🌳 Spread it Spent your volunteer days planting trees? Maybe it’s time to get more trees in your community.

🌳 Park it Ask your local council how you can plant trees on your street, or urban orchards on nearby green spaces.

Done it

🌳 Gift it Gift trees and forests to friends and family this year for birthdays and other events.

Pledge to protect rainforests

Rainforests are home to more than half of the planet’s plant and animal species. 

Around 50% of everyday goods contain palm oil. Unsustainable palm oil plantations are responsible for mass deforestation and with it, homes for many species. For example, 80% of orangutan’s habitat has disappeared in the last 20 years.

New to it

🏝 Chunk it Palm oil is in so many things, so going cold turkey may be unrealistic. Break it down into achievable bites. Have a different focus each month (ie snacks; cleaning products; beauty products, etc) and re-pledge accordingly.

🏝 Choose it Start by picking products that use sustainable palm oil. Look for the RSPO or Soil Association logo.

🏝 Rate it Check out WWF’s Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard to see how popular brands measure up.

Doing it

🏝 Avoid it Try going palm oil free. Use this useful list of palm oil free products. 

Done it 

🏝 Ask it Email companies and ask them to commit to using sustainable palm oil. Consumer power! 

🏝 Understand it Read up on the for and against on RSPO and these RSPO supply chain infographics, and pledge feed your noodle. Then pledge voice up and share your knowledge.

Pledge to protect ocean wildlife 

Wildlife doesn’t just walk, it swims too. 

The UN says unsustainable fishing is the greatest driver of marine biodiversity loss globally. 94% of global fish stocks are fully or overexploited. These following tips will help you choose more marine-friendly meals. 

New to it

🐟 Monger it A friendly fishmonger who sources from sustainable fisheries can recommend what’s in season and usually has a few recipe tips too!

🐟 App it For advice when you’re on the move, try the Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide iPhone app.

Doing it

🐟 Chip it The MSC has a great map of MSC certified fish & chip shops across the UK.

🐟 Shell it Swap prawns for something more home grown. Tasty as they are, prawns come with an unexpected serving of antibiotic residues, human rights abuses and the destruction of carbon-storing mangroves. This article explains all. 

Done it

🐟 Ask it When in shops and restaurants, ask how your fish was caught. If the answer is dredging, bottom trawling or beam trawling, make another choice. If the person doesn’t know, maybe they can raise it with their colleagues and suppliers. 

“As a pescatarian, choosing sustainable fish and seafood is important for me. The biggest polluter of our seas and oceans is fishing nets and therefore choosing produce from countries that do this sustainably makes sense. I also learned about the harms of fish farming.”

Other ideas for World Wildlife Day

Browse our list of 60+ Do Actions for more World Wildlife Day activities to suit you. Any activity that reduces pollution, emissions and waste contributes to safer habitats for plants, animals and humans.

Happy pledging and doing!