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Blue Plaques for Nature

Blue Plaques for Nature

ADD 3 IMAGES - ONE BLANK, ONE WITH QR AND ONE WITH SPECIES - ADD YOUR TEXT HERE

Remember the Blue Plaques action in Wave 1? It was so successful we've repurposed it!

This time the Blue Plaques will honour nature. One species at a time.

This action can be used by Local Groups to promote the Restore Nature Now march on Saturday 22nd June in London and also be used in your community as part of the 'Ceremony | Water is Life!' action or for raising awareness about species lost or under duress.

List of United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan species https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Kingdom_Biodiversity_Action_Plan_species

Spreadsheets for UK countries listing habitat and specicies https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140712055944/http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/biodiversity/protectandmanage/habsandspeciesimportance.aspx

Juliet's wording:

Blue Plaques for Nature

Action Pack

Nature is in crisis and the UK is one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries. Now Extinction Rebellion is joining together with Chris Packham and many of the biggest environmental NGOs such as the RSPB, National Trust and The Wildlife Trusts on a march for nature on Saturday 22nd June: Restore Nature Now www.restorenaturenow.com Blue Plaques for Nature will allow us to both prompt awareness and discussion of the drastic decline in many species, as well as to encourage people to join the march. The iconic English Heritage blue plaques commemorate a notable person who once lived in a particular place. The Blue Plaques for Nature will do essentially the same – except for non-human animals and plants. This is not just a London-focussed action: there are over 1,000 English Heritage plaques in London, but many other cities have long been operating their own versions of the scheme, with more than 200 plaques in each of Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol. When should the plaques go up? Get your Blue Plaque ready in advance so they can all be launched together, nationwide, on the weekend of 25th -26th May, and from then onwards, in the lead up to the Sat 22nd June march. How can I create a Blue Plaque for Nature? You can print your own using the editable or ready-made templates here (link), or you can order one to be made commercially (add details)

  1. Editing and printing your own plaque: details of how to edit (add).
  2. Printing a ready-made plaque from a suite of examples here (link). In both cases, these plaques can then be printed on a standard domestic A4 printer. You can choose to glue the plaque on to cardboard to strengthen it, or perhaps laminate it to make it waterproof. See photos below for ideas of how to leave space on the cardboard or laminate to give you easy options when it comes to attaching your Blue Plaque.
  3. Ordering a commercially made Blue Plaque here (link). Where could I put one up and how to fix it in place? Where: Almost anywhere! The power of the Blue Plaques for Nature rest both on them staying in place to get passers-by talking and thinking, and also on their wider impact via an image on social media. So think about where you choose – in some places the plaques may remain in situ for longer, in others they are likely to be more quickly removed. However, given that the wording on these plaques is not directly political, nor is it targeting a particular individual, it is possible that the Blue Plaques for Nature may be allowed to stay up for longer than, for example, the Wave One Dirty Water plaques. You could place a Blue Plaque for Nature on a fence post by your local playground, or by the stile on a favourite woodland walk. Perhaps a café, corner shop, community centre or church hall in your neighbourhood would like to put one in their window. And lastly, of course – how about your own house? Have you always secretly wished you lived in a blue plaque house? This is your chance! Remember always to take a photo of whichever location you choose. How: It’s up to you how permanent you wish to make the fixing and you need to balance the permanency against any possible damage you may cause and whether you have permission to do so. Easy to remove, no-damage options, which are of course therefore much less long-lasting, would include the use of blue-tac, double-sided sticky tape, string or wire twists around railings. Should you go for early morning/guerrilla posting under cover of darkness, or with a song and dance ceremony? Again this is up to you. Could you put up five in the early hours of Saturday 25th morning for your neighbourhood to wake up to? Or perhaps your local group would like to stage an unveiling ceremony. Whichever you choose, do make sure that you take photos, upload them to the link below here, and spread them widely on social media. Photos/social media (Add link to store photos, and links for who to tag. NB – can we ask people to also tag @MPforNature on X?)
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