British Trust for Ornithology

• We have a full-time EDI officer in post since February 2024.
• We published our vision and inclusion (called “Becoming (More) Inclusive”) framework on our website, and created a video animation to summarise the framework in a new and engaging way. We have collected demographic data from staff every year since 2023. We have reviewed our first year of “becoming (more) inclusive” work using an evaluation method which enabled all staff across all departments to take part.
• We have created an internal archive to collect stories from our staff and our community so we can learn to use them as evidence for change, as well as to celebrate our wonderful community.
• We have a community of practice called “Working with People and Communities” for staff leading our survey and engagement work.
• We have a pilot Anti-Oppression and Bystander training booked in the autumn for a group of staff to trial.
• We published a blog called “A girl and Birds”, written by Alicia Hayden, BTO Youth Advisory Panel, which relates an experience of abuse in ringing. This led us to reinforce our safeguarding and complaints processes, and a group (Task and Finish) was created by members of the Ringing Committee to continue the conversation Alicia started and to look at what can be done to make ringing a welcoming environment.
• Our neurodiversity working group has created some resources to facilitate communication between managers and employees.
• We have a new LGBTQ+ staff group.

• We are supporting the Ringing Task and Finish Group in sending a questionnaire to all ringers in the autumn to collect best practice on how to make ringing a more welcoming environment.
• We are working with university students to produce a survey around LGBTQ+ inclusion in ringing.
• As a member of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, we are involved in discussions around decolonising the conservation sector as well as setting up internal events to celebrate National Inclusion Week.
• We are working with JNCC/York University Initiative to lead a citizen science day for minority ethnic students.
• One of our staff members was on an LGBTQ+ panel in July 2025 organized by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust to celebrate LGBTQ+ representation in STEM.

We produced an animation video in May 2025 to capture what inclusion means to us, and why it matters for BTO’s future. We worked with the illustrator Viola Wang and the animator Christian Wheeler to produce a beautiful, playful and engaging video to share on our website and our social media. It is crucial for us to represent and bring everyone along on our journey to greater inclusion.

1. Collecting demographic data from our staff as well as our entire community of volunteers, members and supporters to produce our first annual report on EDI in 2026, and using the data as benchmark over the next few years.
2. Creating a set of resources around inclusion and accessibility for staff to refer to when starting a new engagement project. Our Working with People and Communities will help support and inform this work.
3. Collecting stories from our community to share on our website and elsewhere, to show success stories as well as evidence of change.
4. Evaluating another year of our Becoming (More) Inclusive work.

• We have trialled out an evaluation method in 2024 to review our first year of “becoming (more) inclusive work”. This is called the “4 + 1 method”, introduced to us by our Inclusion Consultant Helen Bown, and it involves asking all teams and departments to share their learnings, contributions, successes and challenges in link with our EDI work. We are planning on using this method again to review our second year of becoming more inclusive.
• We have contributed to the RACE report and the bi-annual staff perceptions’ survey once again in 2024/2025.
• We are going to be reporting our staff and volunteer demographic data in an annual report which will be shared with our leadership and board in 2026. We are collecting stories as a way of capturing the impact we are having as a result of our work being more inclusive.