When the World Parrot Trust was founded in 1989 -by Andrew Greenwood, David Woolcock, my wife Audrey  and myself- it was realized that, to have any credibility, we would have to find ways of supporting the conservation of parrots in the wild. Today, this seems an almost absurd statement of the obvious, but it wasn't so obvious ten years ago. Some of the major bird protection organizations funded studies of ecosystems and habitats that were helpful to some parrot species, but direct, focussed investment in the parrots was a considerable rarity.

Our friends and mentors at the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust brought to our attention the desperate plight of the Echo Parakeet in Mauritius. Only 12 to 15 birds were left, but Carl Jones and his team were then beginning a program that has now raised numbers to almost 100. Together with the Parrot Society we helped buy a vitally needed four wheel drive vehicle, and both specialist parrot organizations have helped the Echo ever since. 

The way it seems to work for the WPT is that first, we provide some funds for a parrot project, then we tell people what we are doing and ask them to help build up our funds. When funds come in we adopt a new parrot project, tell the world about it, and ask for more financial help. In this way we stack one brick on top of another, and try to build a thriving, expanding commitment on behalf of the whole 'parrot community' to put some of their money where it ought to be, out there in the wild helping the parrots to survive despite the many depredations of man.