Protect the natural world with a gift in your will
About the Field Studies Council
We are the national charity established in 1943 to promote a better understanding of the natural world.
Our aim today is unchanged – to create a world where everyone feels connected to the environment so they can enjoy the benefits it gives and make choices that help protect it.
We do this by offering a wide range of courses and materials, so that everyone – and especially young people – can increase their knowledge, understanding and love for the natural world.
As Sir David Attenborough has said “No one will protect what they don’t care about: and no one will care about what they have never experienced”. So we aim to provide encounters with nature that lead to a life-long engagement with it.
We do this through practical courses at our study centres, though our online training and by producing our range of practical guides to nature, covering everything from trees and lichens to bats and earthworms.
Many people associate us primarily with our field study centres, where their visits have been formative experiences, setting them up for a lifetime of love for nature. Today, the work of our centres is also supported by our online resources, which greatly increase the numbers of people we can reach.
Today’s Challenges
Our planet is facing many environmental challenges, not least the loss of biodiverse habitats and climate change. Of course these are not just a threat to nature, but to all of us, our children and grandchildren.
Yet today many young people lack the environmental understanding and technical skills to speak up for our precious world. They are the ‘lost generation’ of naturalists. After all, how many have ever identified trees, measured life in a quadrat, or ‘read’ the future of a landscape?
To take action to protect nature, the Field Studies Council believes young people must understand and experience the awe and wonder of nature first hand.
The Good News
The good news is that there is much the Field Studies Council can do to share environmental understanding. Using our field study centres, teaching publications and online training, we not only provide the practical knowledge students need, but also inspire in them a passion for nature that will last a lifetime.
We know from past learners that our real-world approach works – whether they studied with us this year or 50 years ago. Our students tell us the Field Studies Council not only gave them happy memories and a career path, but equipped them to fight for nature.
We also know there is a growing hunger for high quality learning. The Field Studies Council has big plans to reach even more students with transformative study courses if we can find the resources to pay for them.
I hadn’t considered that one small application would forge such a pathway through my life. The FSC Young Darwin Scholarship planted and continues to grow my passion for the environment and sustainability.
Former student
Funding our Future
Much of our work is funded by the charges we make for our courses and materials. However, as a registered charity, we also rely on donations and gifts to deliver our projects.
While our field courses and study guides cover our basic costs, additional funding is needed if we are to develop new projects or improve our study centre facilities.
Gifts in Wills
One important way in which our supporters and past students can help is by including a gift in their will. In the past, legacies have transformed our education facilities, paid for educationalists, and enabled us to publish new study materials. They are an invaluable support and every gift in a will counts.
Why Leave a Legacy to the Field Studies Council?
Of course, you will wish to provide for your loved ones but, if there is scope after that, please consider including a share of your estate or a cash gift to the Field Studies Council.
The impact of your gift would be felt for generations to come and would be a gift of hope for a greener future.
So please will you help us to expand what we do and inspire new generations with technical knowledge and a passion for nature?
How might your legacy be used?
The Field Studies Council has a range of important projects that require support, including:
- Modernising and improving our network of field study centres
- Updating and extending our range of popular field study guides
- Developing new fieldwork courses
- Reaching more young people and widening access to environmental education
- Providing kits and equipment for tutors to use
Read Alan’s Story
I have written a legacy into my will to benefit the Field Studies Council. Please will you join me in this, so that together we can pass on our love and understanding of nature to future generations?”
Alan from London
Tax Free Giving
Leaving a legacy to a registered charity is not only tax free, but also reduces the liability for inheritance tax on your estate. So we can all save tax by an act of generosity.
Thanking our generous donors
For every legacy left to the Field Studies Council, we will plant a tree at one of our field study centres in recognition of each donor’s generosity. Like your legacy, these trees will benefit generations to come and will be a living reminder of your kindness.
For Further Information
If you are planning to make or change your will, you are strongly advised to use a solicitor or qualified will writer.
If you do not have an adviser, ask a friend or relative for a recommendation, or visit the website of the Law Society
If you are considering a gift in your will to the Field Studies Council and you would like to discuss this, please contact Jennie Comerford to discuss what your legacy could achieve.
Tel: 01743 852109
Email: [email protected]
Post: Head Office, Preston Montford, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 1HW
Here you will find some suggested wordings you can include in your will, either when drafting a new will or when adding a codicil. There is also a useful estate calculator you can use before you brief your solicitor or will writer.