INSPIRE EDUCATE REWILD
Inspire, educate, rewild. Those three words began Wild Intrigue’s journey a decade ago and remain at our core today.
I’m passionate about ‘rewilding for all’, discovering, designing and leading ways for every person to connect directly with nature, and for these interactions to benefit people, places and wildlife.
I love creating fresh ways to share the enchantment of nature with others. Sometimes we need to be enticed to break away from our usual routines, and it’s always such a joy to explore new ways of sharing our local wilds.
After all, who can resist a night of Bat watching in the city, or enjoying breakfast in the company of Red Squirrels?
Losing ourselves in the wonder and awe of nature – no matter our age – is vital for us, but so too is it vital for Nature. Wonder leads to an intrigue to learn more, and this education turns to appreciation and understanding. To rewild our living systems we need to rewild ourselves, but there’s no reason we can’t have a little fun along the way…
If you’d like to discover more about the journey of Wild Intrigue, please feel welcome to get in touch.
All it takes to create a life-long love for nature, and a motivation to protect, it one moment. For me this was a moment shared with a kind birdwatcher when I was a teen, who’d invited me into my local members birdwatching hide, and allowed me to look through his scope, directly onto a Great Crested Grebe on its nest. How could something so beautiful, something so different, be so close to my home without me even knowing about it? What else was out there?
It’s this moment I hope to create within others, “How can my local area be this wild and beautiful, and how can I help look after it?”
The world of photography was a natural progression for me from this point, capturing in essence the beauty of the world around me. Through my freelance work as a wildlife filmmaker and photographer, I’ve had the privilege of working in incredible locations across the world, seeing species and landscapes that continue to inspire me now.
However the purpose of use of media in the wildlife conservation sector continues to shift, with new technology enabling access to wider audiences, with less disturbance to wildlife, and with the potential to create impactful content.
This is a great interest to me, and I believe is of increasing importance in the constantly declining state of our wildlife, and the fast paced changing interests of the public. To inspire and engage people through ethically captured photography and film of our British wildlife, to ultimately encourage them to journey just a little further into the wilds; whether urban or rural.
Phil Allott
Non-Executive Director
My journey into discovering the love of nature, like many, started during childhood. Growing up in Northumberland provided me with a diverse range of habitats to discover and explore, from hills and the uplands to beaches and islands. I have also developed a fascination with the way in which nature can reclaim, repopulate and rewild urban landscapes.
My predominant interest has always been birds but as I grew, I started to see the whole picture, thinking that if I learned what a bird eats and which tree it uses to build its nest in then surely this would help me to understand it more. It was a real lightbulb moment and I’ve never looked back. With a wider understanding and appreciation of all aspects of nature comes a more intriguing and exciting journey through life. Everyday becomes an adventure and nature presents you with a gift!
Those natural gifts, I believe need to be shared and through Wild Intrigue I am privileged to pass on those gifts and help others enjoy them. I believe that developing an understanding of how to coexist with the natural world is key to not only finding happiness but a balance in life.
As a result, I hope to inspire, educate and rewild as many people as I can towards appreciating the gifts of the natural world.
Matthew Laverick
Wild Hides Ranger
Matthew is our Wild Hides Ranger based at beautiful Wild Haweswater in the Lake District National Park. He heads up operations on site for our wildlife photography hides, and guides Breakfast with Red Squirrels and Afternoon Tea in the Woodland Hide experiences.
His brilliant wildlife photography from the hides can often be seen on our social media channels, alongside his spectacular accounts of wildlife at the hides – from Pied Flycatchers returning from Africa, to Sparrowhawks hunting prey and unexpected encounters with Fox cubs.