Scottish RSPB membership Soars

Scottish RSPB membership soars
to an all time high.

RSPB
Scotland is delighted to reveal that the latest Scottish membership figures have
reached an all time high of 82, 340.  The remarkable rise of well over
5% from the previous level of 77, 933 in 2008 proves that Scots care deeply
about conservation and the  pressures that our natural environment is
facing, even in this uncertain financial climate.

RSPB
Scotland manages a network of over 75 reserves across Scotland, from the
most Northerly point of  mainland Scotland at Dunnet Head to the
most Southerly at  the  Mull of Galloway, as well as many sites
on the Northern and Western Isles. In all the charity manages nearly 65,000
Ha of land with many farming and crofting partners. While retaining a focus on
bird life, many other species benefit from our work - for
example  RSPB Scotland  recently led a bid to secure £2m of
funding for supporting wildlife friendly crofting techniques on
the Hebrides, which will help great yellow bumblebees,wildflowers and
the special machair habitat. We are also heavily involved in reintroducing
some of our most iconic species like White tailed sea-eagles to Scotland,
and delivered outdoor education programmes to over 25,000 Scottish school children in the
last financial year. The RSPB bases its work on a programme of sound
science and policy analysis, which is then
tested and honed on our reserves.
Producing workable and pragmatic solutions to problems is the charity`s
hallmark.

Stuart
Housden, Director of RSPB Scotland said: "None
of our work would be possible without the generous, and loyal support of
our membership. This fantastic growth in members shows that Scots want
to support conservation, and recognise that RSPB Scotland is very
well  placed to do that.  No doubt many of our new members have
been stirred by our campaign to stop the illegal killing of birds of prey - or
maybe they simply had an amazing experience  visiting Scotland's
great outdoors and wish to help conserve it. The RSPB spends 90p
out of every pound we receive directly on conservation, and  the
charity holds only a few weeks of  financial  reserves - so
we really do rely on our members to continue our
work ."

He added: "The current financial
climate means that there is a  risk that government support for
conservation may decline , so it's more important than ever that people
continue their support for us, so we can
establish new nature reserves and fight hard for the special sites
and places that make Scotland's countryside so outstanding. The more people that join, the
more we can do, and the stronger voice birds and nature
have."

• The RSPB operates as a UK-wide charity - supported by
  more than 1,060,000 members nationally, of whom 82,340 reside in
  Scotland.
• RSPB Scotland has it's main office in Edinburgh, with
  regional offices in Glasgow, Inverness and
  Aberdeen.
• RSPB Scotland employs more than 200 full time staff,
  as well as seasonal workers throughout the summer time. More than 1,200
  volunteers also generously give over ten hours of their time a year to help
  RSPB meet its conservation goals.

The Royal Society
for the Protection of Birds Scotland

Dunedin
House

25 Ravelston
Terrace

Edinburgh

EH4
3TP

The RSPB speaks out for
birds and wildlife, tackling the problems that threaten our environment. Nature
is amazing - help us keep it that way. Click here to join today www.rspb.org.uk/join

'The
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity:
England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no.
SC037654