We wanted to keep you updated with how things are going at the Trust during the closed period due to COVID-19. We have been completely overwhelmed by the wonderful support we have received from our supporters, members, visitors, staff and volunteers. We have always known that we have a loyal following, but it is only during times like these that we really, truly realise the magic of our community.
Our social media pages are alive more than ever before, and it’s a real comfort knowing you are all out there, enjoying the updates, commenting and keeping the Trust buzzing. We are all eager for us to re-open. Thank you for wanting that too.
Over the last few weeks, we have talked a lot about being ‘closed’ but the reality is that the Trust isn’t really closed. It is closed to our visitors, however, we still have an exceptional team working every day to look after our birds, and behind the scenes from home. To our birds, COVID-19 doesn’t exist, they know no difference, and that’s just as we like it. To achieve this, we need a strong team to care for them and perform, not only their usual duties, but extra that this virus has thrown at them.
It is certainly a difficult time. We are going to miss seeing the thousands of visitors we would have expected to see over Easter and beyond. Our visitors bring the Trust alive, first and foremost, but the admission fee that they each would have brought to the Trust is crucial to the care of our birds and our conservation work. As a seasonal attraction, this is one of our busiest times of year where we simply won’t be seeing your faces. The government’s initiatives are generous and supportive to those organisations where work cannot be carried out during these times and we’re doing our bit to help stop this disease and save lives. The reality for the Trust though is that we can’t simply stop the care of our birds and the care of wild birds in the National Bird of Prey Hospital™.
So, you’ll see us reaching out for help a little more than we normally do. We hope you know that we’re a humble organisation and work hard to earn our own keep; our philosophy is to avoid pressuring anyone to donate, and we still want that to be the case. We know that many of you are also facing difficult, life-changing financial challenges.
We’re determined to think positively and work towards the re-opening being in the not too distant future, and we’re asking for you to do the same. If you would like to help us keep going through this strange time, please consider:
We’re hoping to have a bit of fun with our fundraising over the next few weeks on our social media pages to try to generate funds to offset a little of the lost revenue. If you can – please join in, let’s see if we can create some positivity together at this time.
Thank you from all of us at the Hawk Conservancy Trust!
