Fellow's Profile
Annie Shadrake
Fellow's Profile
Annie Shadrake
Making volunteering for bird conservation in the UK more accessible and engaging for autistic women
Fellowship
- Themes
- Focus
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Inspiring autistic women to become active volunteers for wild bird conservation.
- Countries
- Fellowship year
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2026
Contact
Biography
I've been fortunate to work in conservation and environmental campaigning in the UK for many decades. Outside my professional life, spending time watching birds and carrying out volunteer bird surveys has brought so much joy to my life as an autistic woman. Through my Fellowship I hope to discover ways to inspire and engage more neurodivergent women to actively volunteer for bird conservation. Overall numbers and variety of wild birds in the UK has critically declined, so we desperately need people from wider backgrounds and lived experiences to volunteer to help birds.
By visiting countries with different perspectives on neurodivergence and intersectionality (eg gender, LGBTQIA+, disability, economic, race) I hope to learn how to deliver inclusive and respectful volunteering activities. I will use this learning to create practical proposals to improve volunteer conservation programmes in the UK.
Increasing the diversity of people volunteering will be good for birds, but also good for people. My goal is to see the strength and passions of neurodivergent women harnessed as a force for good in bird conservation, whilst boosting our self-esteem and well-being.
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
