Paying for membership of a wildlife charity is surely the ideal gift for someone interested in nature, especially children for whom it will encourage interest in the natural world.

There are many national organisations for which you can gift membership, as well as local wildlife charities wherever they happen to live in the UK. Members usually receive print magazines, regular email newsletters and in some cases other benefits, including discounts on products and preferential admission to nature reserves.

Membership of Surrey Wildlife Trust for an individual is on a “pay as you feel” basis (the suggested amount is from £12 per month, the minimum £4), with joint membership (two people) also available. What you give for your membership is of course a contribution to the trust’s important work in supporting the natural world in our county.

A family membership of Surrey Wildlife Trust is from £14 (members can choose to pay more, or less) and includes many extras to enthuse and engage children in Surrey’s natural world.

These include a “Wildlife Watch” starter pack for children with wildlife stickers and a badge to show they've joined the club, and a regular kid’s magazine filled with activities, quizzes and fascinating facts about nature.

All members receive a Wild Guide handbook, an exclusive guide to Surrey’s wildlife and local reserves, the superb Surrey Nature magazine three times a year (as a member myself I can vouch for its excellence), as well as regular email newsletters sharing wildlife news and local nature events, free “members only” events and wild experiences for the whole family.

It also provides priority and discounted booking for courses such as about reptiles, bat surveys and craft sessions. The trust also has family events which are emailed in Surrey Wildlife Trust’s e-newsletter under “what’s on”. For full details of membership options visit www.surreywildlifetrust.org.

If the family or the individual for whom you wish to gift membership lives elsewhere in the UK you can gift membership of their local wildlife trust: there are 46 in total. You can search for your loved ones’ local wildlife trust at www.wildlifetrusts.org.

If you have friends or relatives with an interest in birds, the RSPB (rspb.org.uk) offers individual and family memberships, also on a “pay as you feel” basis.

Members receive a welcome pack on joining, a regular magazine and access to 170 RSPB reserves nationwide. There is also a regular magazine for children in the case of family memberships. An RSPB Youth Membership is also available that includes magazines designed for their age group.

There are several other wildlife charities for which you might gift a membership to your loved ones. They include:

Butterfly Conservation (butterfly-conservation.org) which works to support the UK’s butterflies and moths.

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (britishhedgehogs.org.uk) is dedicated to helping and protecting the UK’s hedgehogs.

The Woodland Trust (woodlandtrust.org.uk ) aims to create wildlife-rich woods in the UK and to plant trees to benefit nature, the climate and people, now and in the future.

WWF (wwf.org.uk) with a global mission: to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. Its UK headquarters are in Woking.

This Christmas please consider giving the gift of membership to a local or national charity, which will foster a deeper interest in nature while supporting the charity’s work.