One of the great strengths of the Wildlife Trust movement is our ability to come together, share ideas, challenge each other and learn from what is working across the UK and beyond. this week, six of us from Manx Wildlife Trust travelled to Gloucestershire for The Wildlife Trusts' Big Wild Gathering 2026, a three-day event bringing together colleagues, trustees, volunteers and partners from across the federation.

Joining me were our Chair, Simon Cain, Head of Engagement Dr Carmel Croukamp, Education Officer Tiphaine Claveau, Farmland Birds Officer Rob Fisher and Biological Recorder Jenny Sharp.

In keeping with our commitment to reducing our environmental impact, we travelled by ferry on the Manannan to Liverpool before hiring a people carrier for the remainder of the journey. Unfortunately, an insurance issue meant I was unable to share the driving, leaving Rob with the unenviable task of doing it all. Thankfully, he took it in his stride - despite the horrendous traffic around Birmingham.

We arrived a day early due to the ferry timetable and volunteered to help with event logistics by managing the car park as attendees arrived. It was a small way of contributing to the event and, thanks to the efforts of the MWT team and event organisers, everything ran remarkably smoothly.

The weather from 22^nd to 25^th June was exceptionally hot. While the camping experience involved rather less sleep than I had hoped for, the quality of the sessions, conversations and networking more than compensated for it - and I guess it beats rain and mud.