TEAM WILDER MASCOT ENCOURAGES ALL TO MAKE SPACE FOR NATURE

Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT) has been granted funding which has enabled it to start a series of events designed to connect people to nature and strengthen communities.

The community initiative, Team Wilder, aims to empower and educate local people to help nature to thrive and recover. This could be in their garden, school, local park, shared verge or even a piece of land which is important to them.

To help deliver this important message, MWT has created a Team Wilder mascot, Tappee the Tern, who is touring the Island, meeting with residents, and encouraging them to chat with the team. Tappee (pronounced Ta-vee) is Manx Gaelic and means ‘fast’.

Manx Lottery Trust awarded the Isle of Man based charity a grant of £2,420 which has gone towards the purchase of a mascot costume, games, decorations, branded merchandise, and arts & crafts materials, all of which are being used for the tour.

Lucy Chapman, Team Wilder Coordinator at MWT, said: ‘The goal of the Team Wilder Tour is to connect with the heroes which already exist within local communities, and help turn their ideas into a reality which will make a real difference for people and nature.

‘To make this a real success, we have made our mascot, Tappee, the star of the tour and we have also made the space as vibrant, welcoming and high impact as possible. We hope to meet face to face with at least 50 people at each event, and if people are inspired towards starting their own community projects from chatting with our team, the outcomes could benefit people into the thousands. We were so pleased to get this tour started, so thank you to Manx Lottery Trust for supporting this special project.’

Stephen Turner, Chairman of Manx Lottery Trust, said: ‘We’re delighted to be able to support such a valuable and worthwhile initiative. It is great to see local communities getting together and taking a collective action for wildlife.’

To keep up to date with Manx Wildlife Trust and the Team Wilder Tour, head to www.facebook.com/ManxWildlifeTrust

This grant is from the Manx Lottery Trust’s Smaller Grants Programme. Manx Lottery Trust has been delegated to distribute National Lottery money from The National Lottery Community Fund. To find out more, head to: www.mlt.org.im/