If you know me, you’ll know that I have a penchant for swimming in freezing cold water.  This year, I’m really pushing the boundaries by signing up to swim 10km down the River Dart in Devon (without a wetsuit!) to raise money for my favourite environmental charity, Buglife.

I first came across Buglife through my work as an environmental lawyer, when I got involved with their award-winning campaign to save West Thurrock Marshes, a wildflower meadow which was home to over 100 species of rare and endangered invertebrates.

The campaign won an award, and I got to meet Sir David Attenborough and Colin Firth.  It’s time to give something back …  

Over 97% of all British wildflower-rich grasslands have been lost since the 1940s, with a devastating effect on our wildlife.  A donation of £10 can safeguard a square metre of wildflower meadow to help recreate
wildflower habitat for wild pollinators such as bees, butterflies and hoverflies.  Currently, almost a third of all bees are under threat and over 70% of butterflies are declining significantly.

Invertebrates enable life on earth, as we experience it, to continue.  And Buglife gives invertebrates a voice.   

Please do consider donating to this brilliant cause. Even £1 can make a real difference to Buglife's important work.

And I would also love to see you on the riverbank on Sunday 4 September 2016! Thank you.

PS As Sir David eloquently puts it,

'If we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to
disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates were to disappear, the world's ecosystems would collapse.'