EARLY ADOPTER v1 Website - for a limited time only.

Ways to Stand Beside

Artistic Celebration & Creative Advocacy Ideas

  • Tell Someone About Your Being and ISB

    Share with friends, family, or social media that you’ve joined I Stand Beside and for which being.

  • Celebrate and Share the Awesomeness of Your Being

    Email us or post on social media – a photo, story, video, essay, artwork or any other creative expression that highlights what makes your being unique-awesome-wonderful, and what its role is in the Web-of-Life.  

  • Use #IStandBeside

    To inspire others and help bring attention to ISB.

  • Follow Us

  • Wear or Display Your Support

    Girl wearing ISB t-shirt

    Make a t-shirt featuring your being.  Soon we’ll have a shop for Print-on-Demand badges, t-shirts, journals etc with customisable graphics and our own designs.

  • Use the Logo

    Our Logo in White

    Add the I Stand Beside logo and link to your email signature or social profiles to quietly spread the message. Download here – or right click and save.

  • Participate in the ISB Online Community (Coming Soon)

    Share your journey and creativity, ask questions, and connect with other advocates. 

  • Boost Awareness

    Amplify I Stand Beside initiatives by liking, sharing, and commenting on posts. 

  • Support us Directly

    Donate money, time or in-kind support to ISB, please contact us directly.

  • Adoption

    Sign up for adoption programmes with relevant conservation organisations where appropriate. Sadly, only for big charismatic animals – which is partly why we set up ISB!

  • Join a Conservation Group that

    • protects the habitat where your organism lives: Wetlands Trust [add link]
    • Or campaigns against a threat, Surfers against Sewage
    • Or represents the Phylum under which you being is classified: Buglife (Arthropods) [add link]


  • Become Familiar

    Learn about your being through online resources, books, or documentaries. Understand its role in the ecosystem, and learn too about the threats…

  • Go and see where your being lives

    Spend time there!  Maybe you can even spot your being, photograph or draw it. (But please don’t disturb it!)  This is an important start to deep connection…

We have lots more ideas under the following headings that we can support better in time (and we’ll share soon):

Build Connection: Creative and Reflective Actions

Learn and Advocate

Take Direct Action: Conservation and Campaigning

Go Deeper: Lifestyle and Commitment

Every action, no matter how small, 
can help weave a resilient and thriving web of life and inspire others to join.

Introduction to Nature Advocacy

As an advocate, your role is not to speak for non-human beings in a literal sense but to stand beside them, amplifying their significance and translating their place in the world for others. You are both an interpreter and a bridge—connecting those who can act with the beings and ecosystems that need their attention.

This role demands humility, responsibility, and empathy. Advocacy is not only about speaking powerfully; it’s also about listening deeply, to the best of your ability, to the beings and systems you represent. You need to balance the use of knowledge (both scientific and traditional), emotional resonance, and spiritual insight while recognising the limitations of human perspectives.

A range of skills can be learned to help you advocate better – and in due course we will be offering free training online and/ or in person. In the meantime, here are some resources and links:


The Works That Reconnects Embercombe

Core Nature Advocacy Principles

How do we advocate for nature in an effective, heartfelt, and transformative way? How can we speak with, rather than for, the beings and ecosystems we seek to protect?

Our Core Nature Advocacy Principles toolkit provides a practical and philosophical framework for deep, relational advocacy. It offers guidance, exercises, and strategies to help you:

Craft compelling messages that resonate emotionally and intellectually.

Listen deeply to diverse perspectives and tailor your advocacy accordingly.

Illustration of snail over book

Use storytelling to foster empathy and inspire action.

Ilustration of coalition

Build coalitions that amplify your impact.

Illustration of hands together

Engage non-violently, even in challenging conversations.

Move beyond human-centred thinking, advocating for nature’s intrinsic value.

This toolkit includes practical exercises—from empathy mapping and embodiment practices to mock advocacy sessions and story-crafting workshops—helping you refine your skills and confidence as a nature advocate.

It also explores the philosophical and spiritual foundations of advocacy, drawing from traditions such as Deep Ecology, Buddhism, and Shamanic practices to deepen your connection with the beings you represent.

Nature needs more than just defenders—it needs voices that speak with wisdom, passion, and respect.

Want to learn more? Please do get in touch.

Nature Reconnection Toolkit

Our Nature Reconnection Toolkit offers a structured approach to rediscovering your place within the web of life. Using an adapted matrix of “Nature Connection Stages”, this resource helps you identify where you are on your journey—from feeling distant or indifferent to nature, to experiencing deep ecological belonging and interbeing. Whether you’re just beginning to explore or seeking transformative practices, our toolkit provides guidance, exercises, and tools to help you move towards a richer, more reciprocal relationship with nature.

We also recognise that accessibility matters. Physical, cultural, social, and psychological barriers can shape our experience of nature connection. That’s why our toolkit includes adaptable methods to meet diverse needs, ensuring everyone can find their path.
This resource is designed for I Stand Beside members, but if you’d like to know more, do please get in touch with us!

The Challenge: A Planet in Crisis

Global assessments demonstrate that the integrity, species richness, and spatial extent of natural ecosystems are eroding rapidly, driven by habitat conversion, pollution, invasive species, and human‑driven climate change, all acting in concert. Below, we outline some of the most urgent global and UK-specific statistics on the state of nature.

Earth and thermometer

Global State of Nature

Statistic
Source
Organisation

Average wildlife population sizes have declined by 73% over the past 50 years.

WWF's Living Planet Report 2024 
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

Freshwater species populations have seen a global decline of 83%.

WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

Over one-third of global tree species are threatened with extinction.

State of Nature Report 2023
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Approximately 10 million hectares of forest are lost annually worldwide.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
The Nature Conservancy

An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the oceans each year.

Science Journal, 2015
Ocean Conservancy

Global temperatures have risen by approximately 1.1°C since the pre-industrial era.

IPCC Report
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

About 50% of the world's coral reefs have been lost in the past 30 years.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Coral Restoration Foundation

Approximately 40% of amphibian species are at risk of extinction.

IUCN Red List
Amphibian Survival Alliance

Approximately one-third of the world's assessed fish stocks are overexploited.

Our World in Data
Marine Stewardship Council

35% of invertebrate pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, face extinction globally.

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
Pollinator Partnership

UK outline

State of Nature in the UK

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with widespread habitat loss and species decline. Below are some of the key statistics about British wildlife:

Statistic
Source
Organisation

One in six species is at risk of being lost from Great Britain.

State of Nature Report 2023
National Biodiversity Network (UK)

The UK Nightingale population has declined by approximately 92% since 1970.

British Trust for Ornithology
British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)

Hedgehog numbers in rural areas of the UK have declined by 50% since 2000.

The State of Britain's Hedgehogs 2022 Report
British Hedgehog Preservation Society

The Turtle Dove population in the UK has decreased by 98% since 1970.

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
Operation Turtle Dove

The Common Toad population in the UK has declined by 68% over the past 30 years.

Froglife
Froglife

What Can We Do?

The statistics above paint a sobering picture, but there is hope. By taking action through conservation efforts, habitat restoration, policy advocacy, and personal choices, we can help reverse these trends. At I Stand Beside, we offer resources, tools, and pathways to help individuals and communities reconnect with nature, build communities of care and contribute to meaningful change.