The Wildlife Trusts have been chosen as the People’s Postcode Lottery’s (PPL) charity of the week, which is a brilliant opportunity to say a huge thank you to PPL players from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. PPL’s support is invaluable to us and the work we do for people and wildlife in Yorkshire, but particularly over the last year.

During most of 2020, the impacts of the COVID-19 emergency significantly restricted our ability to deliver our traditional wildlife-themed suite of fun and educational activities face-to-face with our supporters. However, thanks to funding from players of the PPL, we were able to adapt and innovate, and offer new digital activities and events to connect people with nature in their own homes. 

During the latter part of last year, we transferred a whole host of existing family activity materials - including craft ideas and resources, ‘how to guides’ and quizzes - into digital formats hosted on our website. Being able to provide our activities and resources online was vital to enable people across Yorkshire and beyond to continue engaging with wildlife virtually while we were all staying at home, as per government guidance.

A huge part of that digital collection was our Living Seas education and engagement package; a suite of free, bespoke educational resources (including educational videos, fact sheets, quizzes, arts and crafts, and lesson plans) to help parents and teachers teach children about Yorkshire’s incredible marine wildlife. The resources explore topics including rockpools, fossils, food chains, and exploring the challenges faced by Yorkshire’s marine life including the threats of marine plastics and ocean acidification.

But we were able to get outside sometimes too! During October 2020 half-term we ran a series of outdoor, Covid-secure events at Stirley visitor centre near Huddersfield. Over 300 children visited Stirley during the week to take part in pumpkin picking, wildlife walks and craft activities. 

Despite the limitations, thanks to the support of the PPL we have been able to continue so much of our regular projects during the last year. A huge thank you to the PPL players – we couldn’t have achieved this without you!