World Land Trust Events

A selection of World Land Trust events. See our upcoming events here.

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Events featured on this page:

Sir David Attenborough: Why I support the World Land Trust 

Celebrating 20 Years of WLT in the South-west
16th April, Bristol Zoo

Sir David Attenborough attended a special event, organised by World Land Trust (WLT) and held at Bristol Zoo on the 16th April, where he gave an inspiring talk explaining why he became a Patron of the Trust.

Sir David Attenborough is joined by (l-r) Dan Freeman, John Burton and Barry Paine at Bristol Zoo.

The evening, hosted by ex-BBC Natural History Unit producer and narrator, Barry Paine, was organised as part of the Trust's 20th Anniversary celebrations. As well as Sir David Attenborough's presentation, John Burton (WLT CEO) introduced a short series of clips from films recording the first 20 years of the WLT.

Sir David: Why I support the World Land Trust

Introducing his talk Barry Paine asked Sir David to tell us why he supported WLT. Sir David explained: "It was through John Burton that I came to know the Trust, but my history with John goes back some 30 years to the Life on Earth days when, as part of the series, we were in Rwanda filming the Mountain Gorillas."

"When I'm asked why I support the World Land Trust I say that it can be summed up by 'four reasons'." These were the points that Sir David made, in summary:

• "First, they have low overheads, keeping their administration to a bare minimum."
• "Secondly, because overheads are low, most of your donation reaches the people it was intended for."
• "Thirdly, WLT does not own the land - ownership is with the local partner organisations."
• "Lastly, saving land: To achieve conservation you need to save the whole ecosystem, large enough to support the wealth of wildlife they support. This is what the WLT does with its project partners."

Sir David closed by saying, "The Trust has been hugely successful over the past 20 years and we are all here today to celebrate the success. Of course there is still much left to be done but I am sure that the World Land Trust will go on to raise more funds and save more wildlife and their habitats in the years to come."

Read Sir David Attenborough's talk in full

BBC Natural History Unit and other WLT Supporters from the West Country

The World Land Trust has received enormous support from the West Country, not just from donors but also from the media, conservationists, academics and wildlife film-makers who promote wildlife causes and raise public awareness in the natural world. This special event, sponsored by accountants and financial advisors, Smith & Williamson, was an opportunity to thank supporters in the south-west and let them know how they have helped WLT purchase and save nearly 400,000 acres of vitally important wildlife habitats around the world.

Guests included long-stand WLT supporters from the south and west of England, and an impressive number of people who, over the years, have been active in the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol: Tony Soper, John Sparks, Richard Brock, all long-time friends and colleagues of Sir David Attenborough were just a few of those present. Jo Gipps, Director, and several senior staff of Bristol Zoo (who hosted the reception) also attended, as did Simon Stuart, Chairman of the Species Survival Commission of IUCN, Bruce Coleman a founder trustee of the WLT and Sophie Stafford, Editor of BBC Wildlife.

The event was a great success and special thanks go particularly to Sir David for coming to speak, and Barry Paine for doing such a magnificent job as MC. Thanks also to Bristol Zoo for donating the use of their rooms. Thanks also to Dan Freeman and Jane Krish for organising the event and Derek Kilkenny-Blake (of ARKive) for compiling the film clips.

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Hummingbirds fly in to Piccadilly for Spring 

Henry Sotheran Antique Prints Gallery, London
19th March

As World Land Trust (WLT) Council Member and wildlife writer, Simon Barnes, said in his address to guests at the opening night of the Hummingbird Exhibition at Sotheran's on 19 March:

"No one, however blind and indifferent to nature, can fail to be captured by hummingbirds. They are the birds that every one understands: a bird that can't fail to provoke wonder."

Top: Simon Barnes (left) opened the Hummingbird exhibition at Sotheran's Bookshop in Sackville Street, on the evening of 19 March. He is joined here by Andrew McGeachin, Managing Director of Sotheran's. Above: Hummingbird print by John Gould. (Click on the images to see larger versions.)

Sotheran's call their exhibition of rare prints by John Gould, A Shimmer of Hummingbirds, and their Print Room, downstairs on Sackville Street, certainly does, at the moment, shimmer with their beauty. The prints date back to the mid 1850s when John Gould and his artists found "A new mode of representing the luminous and metallic colouring of the Trochilidae. ... The effect is produced by a combination of transparent oil and varnish colours on pure leaf gold ..." (From the official catalogue, 1851.)

Henry Sotheran Ltd bought the estate of John Gould in 1881 and although they have a large number of Hummingbird prints, many of those in the exhibition have not been in stock for over twenty years. The walls at Sotheran's are decked with 42 beautifully hand coloured lithographs, all with magical gem-like quality to match their gem-like names: Brazilian Ruby, Fiery Topax and Glittering-bellied Emerald to name just three of them.

The Exhibition runs until 10 April and is open Monday-Friday: 9.30 am - 6pm and Saturday: 10am - 4pm. Entrance is free of charge. World Land Trust will receive 50% of the profits on all prints sold during the exhibition.

More information

Exhibition details:
A Shimmer of Hummingbirds: Rare prints by John Gould

Press release:
Hummingbirds Set to Fly Out of Sotheran's, Piccadilly

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Cocktails raising funds for the Yellow-shouldered Parrot 

University of East Anglia, Norwich,
7 February 2009

This year's Diploma Students with The World Land Trust & University of East Anglia have just left for a research project expedition to Margarita Island, Venezuela, where they will assist WLT partners ProVita with research into the status of the Yellow-Shouldered Parrot.

The students giving a presentation about their project (top) and some of the food they cooked for the evening. (Click on the images to see larger versions.)


The Yellow-shouldered Parrot

In preparation for their visit the students, Fiona Duncan, Jo Keene and Pedro Mayorga-Jeffs organised and held a Venezuelan themed fundraising evening at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. The event featured delicious home-cooked traditional Venezuelan cuisine, Venezuelan music and a silent auction.

A group of WLT staff came along to the fundraising evening and enjoyed the Venezuelan food and drink, as well as bidding on the wide range of donated treats in the silent auction. Read WLT's CEO John Burton's account of the evening in our Green Diary blog.

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable and successful evening which raised over £400 towards the project. The Diploma Students would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who sponsored the event and donated generously to the auction.

During their stay on Margarita Island, each of the three students has their own individual research projects. Pedro's research will focus on Yellow-Shouldered Parrots and the characteristics of their nests to investigate any trends that may predispose the nests to be successful or unsuccessful. Fiona will be conducting a baseline bird and butterfly survey of a proposed WLT reserve on the island which will provide valuable information which will be used in the planning of a nature trail for visitors to this area. Finally, Jo will be studying the effects of sand mining on the island's vegetation with a particular focus on invasive species and species important for the survival of the Yellow-Shouldered Parrot.

We look forward to reading their reports on their return.

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