Photo by: @HedgehogHugh
Awareness and Engagement
Raising awareness, providing nature education, and inspiring people to care about Curlews is at the heart of what we do. Conservation cannot succeed without public support – saving Curlews depends on local communities, farmers, land managers and landowners feeling part of the solution.
Practical action is vital, such as creating landscapes suitable for nesting and feeding, reducing unsustainable levels of predation, minimising disturbance and keeping dogs on leads during the breeding season. But just as important is building understanding and empathy so that everyone recognises their role in protecting these birds.
Curlew Action is uniquely placed to lead this work. Our founder and CEO, Mary Colwell, is a respected producer, author, and speaker on nature and conservation. Our trustees bring a wealth of experience in communication and engagement, and our patron and ambassador, the internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter, David Gray, uses his voice and platform to champion the Curlew’s cause.
Talks and Webinars
Members of the Curlew Action team regularly give talks about Curlew conservation and wider natural history education. You can watch our conservation webinar series, 'Conservation: lessons from the Curlew'. All recordings and summaries can be found here.
If you would like a Curlew Action team member to give a talk to a school, group or organisation please get in touch! Likewise, if you are looking to give your own Curlew talk and would like some resources.
Curlew Action at events
Mary Colwell interviewed our patron, David Gray, at the New Networks for Nature 2021 conference in Bath. Mary and David discussed his music, nature and love of Curlews, and David performed his song inspired by the mysterious call of Curlews 'The Arc' for the first time. He said: 'The Curlews song seems to split in mid air and take the heart in two directions at once, I tried to fashion my song in the gap in between. I realised that every time I encounter the Curlew’s music, it seems not only comfortingly familiar but also very strange and alien at the same time. My lyric suggests time moving in a circle, within which the Curlews voice acts as a gateway. A curving beam, that as it rises, carries us inward, into a world of memory and transcendence, and then beyond that, into a place of obscurity and deep time.’
Photo by @HedgehogHugh
During his 2022 World Tour, David Gray helped us spread the word about Curlews to thousands of guests at his concerts! Below are photos of some of our stands.
Mary Colwell and Ellen Bradley at Portishead Saltmash Day, Aug 2021
Ground nesting birds signs
Curlew Action works to raise awareness about the impact that recreational disturbance can have on ground nesting birds like Curlew. In January 2022 we ran a competition asking our supporters to create their own sign to advice the public to be careful of ground nesting birds, and in 2024 supporters designed wintering disturbance signs for us.
A few of these signs were chosen as Curlew Action's official signs which people can use to put up in their local area. To receive a laminated sign please email Charlie - all you have to do is donate for postage. You can also purchase corrugated plastic signs in A4 or A3 here.
Visit our dedicated signage page for more information and additional downloads.
Winter Design by Megan Hamill
Click image to download
Summer Design by Lucy Kenner
Click image to download
Films, podcasts & publications
Curlew Action uses a variety of media to make information accessible to as many people as possible. Visit our 'About Curlews' page to browse our films, podcasts and publications. If you can donate to support our media work we would be very grateful – please do so here.