End of Year Review 2021: Growing an Exciting Future at Lawyers for Nature

It's been a challenging year for many, not least for those increasingly affected by the climate crisis and of course, the devastating effects to nature we have seen around the UK and the world; from the biodiversity meltdown to the vast pollution of our environment. But at LFN, we are looking forward with optimism to 2022, the year in which our roots will continue to grow and the new shoots of ambition will begin to bear fruit. We will be producing more great content, launching our education and networking events and continuing our unshakeable commitment to representing the natural world and all who seek to defend it.

This last quarter has seen the launch of our new improved website, which if you're reading this message you'll have already seen. The plan is to make the website a platform for community contributors to share all types of legal and cultural content, which resonates with LFN's mission and values. Expect an increased focus on video, podcasts, infographics and reports from the brightest upstarts working in environmental law today. You can always get involved, just reach out directly via our Contact Page or better yet, head straight to our new Community Discord Server, where LFN's main actions will be orchestrated in 2022.

Thus far we've seen some excellent contributions, including four articles on the biggest global event to address the climate crisis, COP26. Whether it was the fractured experience resulting from predictably unilateral representation, the Declaration on Forests and Land Use seeking to “halt and reverse” deforestation by 2030, the equivocal language in use throughout the Draft Memorandum, or the US-China Joint Declaration, our writers have endeavoured to offer a unique and balanced insight into the most contemporary of happenings on the global stage. And with your feedback and support, we'll continue that mission in earnest.

Yet we also recognise that, while the law is an essential part of the toolkit protecting the natural world, we are also here to celebrate its beauty and to generate awareness of the the world's other grassroots causes and campaigns. Our first example of this is the Trees of Music by RAIN collaboration with Mestre Poa, Rosimeire and Miriam Margoyles in which Nora Sai Monote, the Noke Koi Fire Song was performed to raise funds through the organisation's Crowdfunder page. We welcome other such organisations to approach us for coverage throughout 2022 - if we can help you in a similar way, we will. It's how we roll.

And let us not forget our new, regular case studies. The first is focused on the Save the Footbridge Oaks Campaign in which Paul Powlesland tells the story of a time when LFN advised an activist intervention, blocked an injunction and won a Tree Preservation Order to defend a pair of veteran oaks. It's the kind of work we will be doing a lot more of in 2022 through our forthcoming Legal Fund for Nature.

As ever, if you have a community action that needs our support, you can always reach out via enquiries@lawyersfornature.com or alternatively, use the form on our Contact Page and just select 'Legal' from the dropdown menu - we will be in touch. Of course, if you want to contribute to the Legal Fund for Nature in defence of UK community action groups protecting their local environments, please select 'Funding'. We hugely appreciate any partnership proposals in this regard.

So with that, from everyone at LFN, we wish you a healthy, happy, prosperous and nature-filled New Year in 2022! Please show your support by joining the Community Discord Server and sharing our newsletter subscription link with your colleagues, friends and families. By coming together, being informed and amplifying our common interests, we each stand a better chance of defending nature. We look forward to providing any assistance we can in 2022 and beyond.

With best wishes,

Lawyers for Nature