In June 2021, in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic, MSPs logged on to a Nature Champions webinar to begin their journeys as Nature Champions in the 6th Scottish Parliament. It’s hard to imagine that, in just under five years, so much has been achieved!
Since then, more than 100 MSPs have become Nature Champions for some of Scotland’s extraordinary species and habitats, collectively supported by over twenty Scottish Environment LINK member organisations. More than 50 MSPs have visited their species or habitats in person and over half of MSPs have raised awareness of their species or habitats in Parliament or through public awareness-raising activities.
Over this Parliament, Scottish Environment LINK members have led five different cross-party group site visits for Nature Champions, including to Scotland’s rainforest, a lowland peatland, a river restoration project, a marine boat trip to Bass Rock, and a World Bee Day visit to the University of Stirling. Together, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of Nature Champions in 2023, with 23 different MSPs providing audio descriptions as part of a public exhibition, ‘A Voice for Nature’, which took place in front of the Scottish Parliament. Five MSPs have been awarded the coveted MSP Nature Champion of the Year award, and five more received awards at the ‘Celebrating Nature Champions’ Parliamentary Reception in 2025. To top it all off, 15 Nature Champions took part in a Members’ Business Debate on the Nature Champions Initiative just last month.
Nature Champions have made a real difference in ensuring that Nature’s voice is heard in Parliament, which is vital given today’s climate and biodiversity crises. While most Scots take enormous pride in our natural environment, many people don’t realise just how close to the wind we are really sailing. Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and 1 in 9 of Scotland’s species are threatened with extinction. MSP Nature Champions have been, and will continue to be, vital in leading the recovery of Scotland’s natural environment.
As we look forward to the next Parliament, we’re looking forward to working with the new cohort of MSPs when the initiative relaunches in May. For those MSPs standing down, however, we want to emphasise that being a Nature Champion is not just for Parliament!
We hope that MSPs continue to champion their species and habitats outside of Holyrood – and LINK member organisations are always looking for volunteers if anyone is eager to get stuck in!
Our sincere thanks, on behalf of everyone at Scottish Environment LINK, to all Nature Champions for being a voice for Scotland’s threatened species and habitats in the 6th Scottish Parliament.
