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Friday 24th October 2025

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• – Thompson has welcomed the first female leader of the Church of England, imploring her to make a “determined commitment to rewilding and try to help British wildlife to recover”
• – This morning, Packham descended on St. Paul’s Cathedral with a model ark bearing the names of over 100,000 people who signed a petition calling on the Church to save nature, along with an open letter to the new Archbishop backed by Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson, Zack Polanski, Rowan Williams, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

London: A diverse collection of actors, scientists, academics, TV personalities, politicians, theologians and naturalists, along with over 120,000 members of the public, have joined forces to call on the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, to lead the Church of England in committing to rewilding 30% of their vast estate.  

This morning, Chris Packham carried this groundswell of support to St. Paul’s Cathedral. On the steps of the iconic building, the conservationist and TV presenter held aloft a model of Noah’s Ark etched with the names of the thousands of members of the public who want the Church of England’s wealthy investment body, the Church Commissioners, to take urgent action to protect nature.

The action, organised by grassroots campaign group Wild Card, is part of a growing movement pressing for the Church of England, one of the country’s biggest landowners, to do more to tackle the nature and climate emergency.

Actor Emma Thompson said: “Nature is the heart of creation, but has been treated as disposable, as a space to be colonised without regard to the welfare of any of its denizens, including humans.

“We are slap bang in the middle of a biodiversity crisis. Now, with the Church’s first female leader, I am hopeful that she will also be the first to truly lead on behalf of all creation.  Humans like to think of themselves as apart from nature. It has become clear to most of us that this is not the case, and that we are as much a part of nature as any other living creature. I implore the new Archbishop to make a determined commitment to rewilding and try to help British wildlife to recover.”

Packham was also armed with an open letter for the Archbishop-Designate, signed by nearly 50 high profile individuals and organisations, including, broadcaster, actor and writer Stephen Fry, Green Party leader Zack Polanski, former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, former chair of the IPBES and IPCC Sir Robert T Watson, chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas.

Speaking at the event, Chris Packham said: “For too long the Church Commissioners have gotten away with putting profit over creation. The new Archbishop has the power to lead real change, not just within the Church, but within the country.

“With the planet in the midst of a climate and nature emergency, and over one hundred thousand people, including many churchgoers, sending a clear message that they want action, we are hopeful that the Archbishop-Designate will give British wildlife the salvation that it desperately needs.” 

Presented alongside the ark that featured at today’s event, was a gift of more than 100,000 wildflower seeds for the new Archbishop, each representing a signatory’s hope for the Church to take action to protect nature. 

Britain ranks in the bottom 10% of nations globally for biodiversity. Given that half of England is owned by less than 1% of its population, the country’s top land owners, like the Church of England, must act if we are to increase biodiversity and reach the United Nations’ target (of which the UK Government is a signatory) of restoring and protecting 30% of land and seas for nature by 2030.  Currently, a majority of the 108,000 acres of land held within the Church Commissioners’ investment portfolio, is in a poor ecological condition. Largely used for commerical farming, only 3% is wooded, compared with the UK average of 13%, giving it the lowest tree coverage of the UK’s top ten institutional landowners. Meanwhile, according to Church officials, fewer than half of Church Commissioner owned sites of special scientific interest (known as SSSIs) are considered to be in ‘favourable condition’, despite their potential value for nature.

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CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information contact: Heather Carswell: press@wildcard.land / 07815 741183

NOTES TO EDITORS
Further details about the Rewild the Church campaign can be found here.
Images and video are available.

ABOUT WILD CARD
Wild Card is a citizens movement campaigning for the UK’s biggest landowners to urgently rewild their lands in response to the climate and nature emergency. With over 250,000 people supporting their campaigns to date they have already claimed successes in persuading the royal estates and other landowners to begin ambitious nature restoration schemes.
www.wildcard.land 

ABOUT CHRIS PACKHAM
Chris Packham is a broadcaster, environmental activist and animal welfare campaigner. He is best known for his television work including The Really Wild Show and BBC nature series Springwatch. His recent TV credits include Earth for the BBC, and Is it Time to Break the Law for Channel 4, a documentary in which he examined whether climate change protestors are justified in breaking the law for their cause.