My name is Frances Hurst and I'm a BTO member, volunteer and Trustee.
I first got involved with BTO at the time of the bird Atlas in 2007
so it got me out looking at my local patch in a new way and I really enjoyed it and I was hooked.
I've been passionate about birds since I was a child - my grandmother loved and fed the birds in the garden
and she introduced me to all the different species
Explained that they ate different food and just really got me interested
and I used to love going round there
see if I could spot a woodpecker on her feeders
It's been a lifelong passion for me.
I think BTO is really special because of the personal connection that volunteers have with the cause
What I do as a volunteer - my observations - become part of the data, part of the research
So we're absolutely central to the work and I think that's very motivating.
Well, I had a really special experience with BTO one evening
it was after a council meeting and
a few of us had a chance to go out with a couple of BTO staff into Thetford forest
where they were monitoring and tagging Nightjars,
and it was just such a wonderful evening
as the night drew in the Nightjars were flying around our heads
and we were watching this Woodlark to try and find out where its nest was
and the staff member I was with was just sat there for probably 20 - 25 minutes
until this bird finally trusted the environment enough to go back to the nest
and I just was so blown away by the patience and the commitment (of the staff member).
Yeah, it really stayed with me that experience.
I'd been thinking about leaving a gift in my Will to BTO
but it was really last year when I was dealing with my late father's affairs
that it maybe crystallized things.
he'd left gifts to a number of causes that he really cared about and I felt right it's time I got myself organized
Leaving a gift in my Will to a charity is a bit of a no-brainer for me
particularly when it comes to BTO because birds have been such a
amazing part of my life
Brought me so much joy
That if I can, by leaving a gift
if I can help in some small way ensure that they'll but still be birds around for future generations
then that makes me feel very happy.
I know it's really important for people leaving a legacy or thinking about leaving a legacy to a charity
to really trust that the organisation is going to do the right thing by them
, and I've been very fortunate being a trustee of BTO that I've seen
just how committed and thorough the board, the staff, the leadership are
in terms of the way they run the organisation - the governance of the organisation.
So I feel so confident that when the time comes for my legacy to be relevant, as it were
that they will
Use that money in the best possible way so that it makes the biggest difference at that time.
I think there'll always be a need for BTO
Unfortunately in some ways, because there's so many bird species in trouble
and there will always be a need for that objective science
That the BTO brings - to try and understand why these changes are happening, why there are problems
So it's the evidence that BTO gathers and holds - for all of us
that is the epitome of passing on something wonderful for future generations
because it's giving them the possibility of
still enjoying - like I have - birds and the wonderful environment that we have.