Our Life Saver - Jenny Challenger

Meet Jenny, the subject of our next Volunteer interview.

• Tell us a bit about yourself

  I grew up in Earby in the Forest of Bowland, and had a wonderful outdoor and artistic upbringing which I'm extremely grateful for. From a young age (living at a farm above Earby with my dad) we had rescued animals, we had lambs in cat beds and birds with broken wings in the bath. We had a beautiful small woodland behind the farm that I was exploring every chance I got with my brother and friends. So the love for nature and creating have stayed my true passions ever since. I'm now a full-time wildlife illustrator, a step mum to two little boys, wood carver (when I have time) and wildlife volunteer! I have illustrated a few children's books, which has been a dream of mine since finishing art at A level. I do mural painting, sell my art in cafes, shops and online and take part in as many art markets as possible. 

  
  

  Whenever me and my partner Joel have days off, we are away on his bike or I'm the camper wild camping and exploring with the kids or without.  We also enjoy cold water swimming, climbing and adore ancient trees! 

  
  

• How long have you been involved at the rescue? 

  I have been volunteering at the Rescue since early March 2025. 

  
  

• What made you decide to volunteer?

  I had been working Wednesdays in a shop in Skipton for years, to keep my wage up whilst trying to build a career as an illustrator. By the beginning of 2025, I had finally got to a stage where I could afford to leave the shop and be a full time artist, but I new that I needed something else to keep my week routine. I'd heard about Craven Wildlife Rescue a few times and, living in Hellifield, it was just up the road. I thought a wildlife rescue would be the perfect place for me - I could also be involved with native wildlife close up, which has inspired me with my art so much, as well as fulfilling the love of rescuing wildlife that I've had since childhood. 

  
  

  

  
  

• What do you get from being part of it? 

  The Rescue is an incredible place. I knew, when starting, that experiencing animals up close would be such an amazing experience. But I didn't expect to meet such an amazing team of people, too. Every volunteer is wonderful and a similar person to me. I have made friends there that are like family. We all help and learn from each other and it's so comforting to know that there are many others out there that share the same passion and empathy for animals. The weekly shift at the Rescue has never not been exciting. It can be challenging - which I love - and new obstacles are thrown at you every week. It gives me a sense of purpose and belonging too, like I'm doing something great. I wouldn't miss it for the world! 

  
  

• What is your favourite rescue story? 

  Gosh, like Lynn said before, it's so hard because each animal has such character. They all surprise us and are so strong. 

  
  

  I think Pete the hedgehog has to get a mention. When I first started, Pete had been our longest resident at the Rescue. He was very poorly and small when he came in and ended up losing all of his spines! Pete soon became everyone's favorite, and we knew he was going to take a long time to get back into the wild, or perhaps he never would. Without spines, hedgehogs have no defense against predators, so Pete had a special hutch outside that he lived in. But, surely enough, after months and months, his spines started to return! Pete has now got all of his spines back, and was released into Penny's (one of the amazing Rescue founders) garden! All the animals have special stories to tell, I'd be here forever if I told them all. 

  
  

• Why is wildlife important to you? 

  I think that wildlife should be important to everyone, without question. Humans have become disconnected with the other creatures around them, we manicure the land for aesthetics and 'economic growth' rather than trying to live alongside wildlife. I think humans should be part of wildlife, not apart from it. That isn't reality for everyone unfortunately, so I want to do my best to help reduce my impact as much as possible, as well as educate others and help to undo damage that we've already caused.  Without nature flourishing, humans won't either, we rely on it and can't keep destroying it.

• What tips would you like to share with our supporters? 

  I think the basic ones would be what Lynn mentioned previously, check before you strim or mow anything. And hedgehogs out in the day usually have something wrong with them. 

  
  

  But a more broad piece of advice would be to think about your impact when doing anything, like using weed killer or pruning a tree. Check for birds nests before it! Really, it's not that important to have a tidy, neat garden if it's at the expense of creatures living there. We need to leave space for nature to thrive. I can't tell people that enough! 

  
  

  Even if you have a small space, try leave some for nature, re wilding a section of your garden will really make a difference, and I think wildflowers, thistles and vines are much more beautiful than soil and grass!

Jenny's illustration of a Tawny Owl