Press release: Help protect wildlife for future generations this Remember A Charity Week

People’s Trust for Endangered Species joins hundreds of UK charities encouraging people to consider leaving a gift to charity in their Will

From 7-13^th September, wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is joining 200 other charities and partners across the UK to celebrate the powerful legacy of gifts left to charities in Wills as part of Remember a Charity Week.

The nationwide campaign encourages people to consider leaving a gift to a charity in their Will and asks people to think about their own legacy and what they would like to be remembered for. By remembering a charity in your Will, you could leave a lasting legacy and help make the world that little bit better for future generations.

Thanks to its supporters, PTES has spent almost five decades working to protect some of the world’s most cherished and endangered wildlife, from hedgehogs and hazel dormice to slow lorises and snow leopards. Legacy gifts of all sizes have helped support vital conservation work that will benefit wildlife and wild places for generations to come and, in turn, will help to combat the ongoing biodiversity crisis.

PTES set up Hedgehog Street in partnership with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society in 2011, thanks to a legacy from Dilys Breeze. Hedgehog Street aims to encourage people to make small changes that will make a big difference to native hedgehogs, which have declined by between 30-75% in the countryside since 2000. Urban hedgehogs are thought to be stabilising and may even be recovering in some areas thanks to community action like Hedgehog Street. Over the past 15 years the campaign has grown from strength to strength, and now boasts a vibrant community of over 135,000 enthusiastic Hedgehog Champions helping to stop the ongoing decline of Britain’s favourite mammal and bring hedgehogs back from the brink – which, encouragingly, appears to be working. 

Also with the help of a legacy, PTES was able to buy Briddlesford Woods Nature Reserve on the Isle of Wight in 1991 – one of the last places where red squirrels and hazel dormice live side by side. This unique and beautiful nature reserve is also home to rare barbastelles and Bechstein’s bats, barn owls, badgers, butterflies and countless other species who thrive in this ancient woodland thanks to PTES’ ownership. Careful, ongoing woodland management creates a healthy mix of old trees, dense undergrowth, sunny glades, open rides and undisturbed corners, which is the perfect environment for the wildlife that calls Briddlesford home and is only made possible thanks to PTES’ supporters.

Rachel Lawrence, Head of Fundraising at People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) said: “Legacies in Wills are absolutely vital for charities like PTES. They provide the long-term reliable funding we need to deliver conservation projects here in the UK and globally, helping to protect species from rare hazel dormice to majestic snow leopards.”

“Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we can invest in pioneering research and practical conservation solutions that tackle the ongoing biodiversity crisis and give wildlife and habitats a better chance of survival. Every gift, whatever its size, can make a lasting difference. We are committed to ensuring that our supporters’ hard-earned money is used where it can have the greatest impact, helping to protect the wildlife and wild places we all share.”

Increasingly, people across the UK are choosing to leave a gift to their favourite charities in their Will, and those gifts have never been more needed. Gifts in Wills raise more than £4 billion⁽¹⁾ of vital funding annually for good causes, with more than 1 in 5⁽²⁾ charity supporters (22%) including a charitable gift in their Will.

Lucinda Frostick, Director of Remember A Charity – the consortium of charities working together to inspire the UK public to remember good causes in their Will, said: “This Remember A Charity Week, we’re encouraging people across the UK to reflect on what matters to them, and the legacy they want to leave behind.

“For some, that’s the memories and values they pass on to family and friends. For others, it’s making a difference that lasts beyond their lifetime and helps create a brighter future for the next generation.

“Increasingly, we see people across the UK choosing to remember their favourite charities in their Wills alongside gifts for their loved ones. Whether big or small, every gift has a real impact and helps charities continue their work for years to come.”

To find out more about PTES’ ongoing conservation work, visit ptes.org/legacy

For more information about Remember A Charity Week, visit www.rememberacharity.org.uk and join the conversation using #RememberACharityWeek, #WhatsMyLegacy

– ENDS –

For high-res images, or to arrange interviews, contact Adela Cragg:

T: 07852 884885

E: adela@culturecommscollective.com

Notes to editors

Available for interview

• Rachel Lawrence, Head of Fundraising, People’s Trust for Endangered Species
• Nida Al-Fulaij, CEO, People’s Trust for Endangered Species

About People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES)

• PTES, a UK conservation charity created in 1977, is ensuring a future for endangered species throughout the world. We protect some of our most threatened wildlife species and habitats, and provide practical conservation support through research, grant-aid, educational programmes, wildlife surveys, publications and public events.
• PTES’ current priority species and habitats include hazel dormice, hedgehogs, water voles, noble chafers, stag beetles, traditional orchards, native woodlands, wood pasture and parkland and hedgerows.
• Visit www.ptes.org and follow PTES on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

About Remember A Charity

Remember A Charity was established in 2000 as a consortium of charities working to inspire more people to consider leaving a gift to charity in their Will. Now with 200 charity members, the campaign works with partners, professional advisers and Government to grow legacy giving. Remember A Charity is part of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, which is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC000910) and is a charity registered in England and Wales (No. 1188764) and Scotland (No. SC050060).

Data References

1. The Legacy Giving Report 2026, Smee & Ford and Legacy Futures
2. Stages of Change Report 2026, Remember A Charity / OKO

 Images: Credit Clare Pengelly and Pearse O’Halloran.