The scale and breadth of volunteer activity across the Trust is simply magnificent. Across the county we have 1,600 individual volunteers, collectively giving in the region of 68,000 hours to support our work for wildlife. From our Board of Trustees to our teenage Young Wardens, our volunteers bring integrity and community to everything we do and make Suffolk Wildlife Trust the vibrant, ambitious, grounded charity that nature needs us to be.

Each year at the AGM we make an award to a volunteer or volunteers who have made an outstanding contribution to the Trust. This year we were delighted to recognise the work of the many volunteers involved in the SOS Swifts project.

SOS Swifts is a project partnership between Suffolk Bird Group and Suffolk Wildlife Trust. It has captured the imaginations of communities across the county, and as well as providing the nesting sites swifts need, it’s building a new and motivated network of community advocates for nature.

SOS swifts epitomises the ‘every one playing their part in bringing nature back’ philosophy of the Trust. With more than 1,000 swift boxes up in Suffolk already, it’s a magnificent example of the impact for nature a small group of dedicated volunteers can have – and what the Trust’s Team Wilder approach aims to inspire more of.