Angling Trust launch new campaign to highlight anglers’ love for nature

The Angling Trust has launched a new campaign to showcase the fantastic work that many clubs, fisheries and individual anglers are doing to protect the environment and the waters we fish.

The Love Fishing Love Nature initiative will also highlight the health and wellbeing benefits anglers enjoy while being at one with nature and encourage further work to safeguard the waters we love and the surrounding environment.

The Angling Trust will also share anglers’ love for nature across digital platforms and are appealing for pictures, video and stories from clubs, fisheries and individuals capturing that magical moment with nature.

Liberty Denman, Environmental Projects Officer who is leading the Love Fishing Love Nature campaign, said:

“There are dozens of reasons why we love fishing, but for many anglers one of the best reasons is the simple pleasure we get from being close to water. Of the thousands of anglers recorded in the National Angling Survey, almost 90% said that experiencing nature and scenery, and escaping crowds and noise was important to them. As anglers, we are aware of the health and mental wellbeing benefits that being outdoors provides, and the many surprises and magical moments we encounter from being next to or on the water.

“Protecting these environments is important to anglers, yet so much of the conservation work anglers do goes unheralded. Our conservation contributions have never been so important as they are today, with climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss and water scarcity threatening the very environment and waters we love as anglers.”

According to official Government statistics, approximately 4% of individuals in the UK take part in environmental volunteering, but within the angling community this figure rockets to 57%, with 24% of those doing so on a monthly basis.

Liberty added:

“Through our Love Fishing Love Nature campaign, we aim to highlight the joy of experiencing nature through angling and the many conservation successes already achieved by clubs, fisheries and anglers and encourage further conservation and volunteering to protect and enhance both freshwater and marine environments.”

Jeremy Wade, Angling Trust Ambassador and star of River Monsters, said:

“Spending time at the waterside is great for our physical and mental wellbeing. My life would have been very different without this aquatic dimension. But it’s a two-way street: our rivers also need us, to speak out when they are abused and neglected. (And also, when necessary, to roll our sleeves up.) And because healthy rivers are central to restoring the biodiversity of our countryside, anglers are in a position to have an impact way beyond the waterside — in a way that benefits everybody.”

How to get involved:

Do you have a Love Fishing Love Nature story to share? Is your club or fishery involved in a project to protect the environment? Or maybe you are an angler with a story or picture showing your love for fishing and nature?

Please email your stories and pictures to [email protected] . If you require further information, please contact Liberty on 07944 994090 or email [email protected] . If you share your pictures on social media, don’t forget to use the hashtag #LoveFishingLoveNature and tag the Angling Trust!

• Click here for more details
• Colne Valley: Love Fishing Love Nature in action