Meet your MSP
Speak up for nature.
If you still can’t get a meeting, there are other ways to make sure your voice is heard, such as promoting your cause on social media.
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Meet your MSP and speak up for nature
Here’s everything you need to know about arranging a meeting with your MSP to talk about nature.
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Talk about the things you care about
Our wildlife and wild places can’t speak up for themselves – they need us to be a voice for positive change. Here’s everything you need to know about arranging a meeting with your MSP to talk about nature.
Why meeting your MSP matters
Following the Scottish election in May 2026, 129 MSPs have entered the Scottish Parliament. Many are now getting to know their communities and what their priorities are. Nature and climate were spoken about during the campaign trail, but warm words must turn into real action. Most policies that impact nature are devolved in the UK, which means the Scottish parliament and the decisions it makes for nature are crucial. In Scotland, one in nine species is at risk of national extinction, and we’re one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. The new Parliament needs to act quickly to restore biodiversity and save precious species.
This is a vital time to let MSPs know about the threats facing nature and what’s important to you. MSPs deal with many political issues and will prioritise the ones they hear their constituents care most about. Nature needs people like you to raise your voice and make sure it’s not forgotten. Show your MSP how seriously you take these issues by meeting to discuss them in person. When you speak from the heart, they listen.
How do I organise a meeting with my MSP?
Our template makes it easy to contact your MSPs and request a meeting to talk about nature. It already includes your MSPs’ email addresses, so all you need to do is personalise it. A personal email stands out more in an MSP's inbox, so if you have time, it's worth putting how you feel about nature into your own words.
In Scotland, you’re represented by one constituency MSP and seven regional MSPs, so more than one MSP could accept your meeting invite. You may not have time to meet them all, so the template lets you choose which MSPs you’d like to contact.
Your MSPs will likely offer two ways to meet with you - an individual meeting, or a surgery (a day MSPs dedicate to meeting people from their constituency). These can take place in the MSP’s constituency office, somewhere local like a community centre or supermarket, or online. Surgery appointments can be short, sometimes as little as 10 minutes, so try to prepare what you want to say in advance.
If you don’t hear back from your MSP within two weeks, send a friendly reminder. You can also contact them through social media or by calling their constituency office – contact details can be found on Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) | Scottish Parliament Website. Remember, it’s your MSPs’ job to represent you, so they should offer the chance to meet face-to-face.
Promoting your action
How to make the most of your MSP meeting
First, work out what issues you want to raise – two to three key points and a clear ask. This can be a mix of local and national nature issues. If possible, relate the issue to your own experience. How has it affected you? What changes have you seen for nature? What concerns do you have about the future?
Useful information
We’ve also put together five ways the Scottish Government can help save nature, which you might find helpful.
What to ask:
It can be hard to know what to ask your MSP to do – what you choose to discuss can depend on their party, their role, and their influence over the issues you want to raise. Here are a few ways your MSP can influence the Scottish parliament:
- Parliamentary Questions:
First Minister’s Questions takes place each week and is shown on TV – this is where MSPs put questions to the First Minister and others. You could ask your MSP to raise a question about nature here. - Debates:
Your MSP can call for a debate on nature or speak up in one that’s already happening. These can be a useful way to make sure nature stays on Parliament and MSPs’ agendas. - Legislative scrutiny:
When new bills are put forward, it’s the MSPs’ jobs to read them carefully and push for any changes needed. If your MSP sits on a relevant committee, such as the Environment and Climate Change Committee, they can also have more influence here. - Letters to the Minister:
Your MSP can write directly to the relevant minister to raise concerns and call for action on the issues that matter to you.
But you can also ask each MSP if they will:
- Call for more funding for nature-friendly farming?
- Back strong nature targets to restore Scotland's biodiversity?
- Call for Berwick Bank to be stopped to make way for less damaging offshore wind?
- Call for new developments to be nature-positive?
- Call for the Nature Restoration Fund to be boosted, to help drive wildlife recovery across Scotland
You’ll likely only have a small window of time, so think about which issues are important to you, and if your MSP has any influence over any of them.
You can also share our key messages – these are the issues we believe can have the greatest impact for nature through government action. If you’re an RSPB supporter, you can tell your MSP this, but please also make clear that you’re not an official RSPB representative, and your views are your own.
Once you've decided what you’d like to discuss with your MSP (and if you have any extra time!), you could find out more about your MSP and what makes them tick through social media, local press, or other research. Doing this can help build rapport and make it easier to relate what you ask to their own interests. You can also take a look at the current and previous Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs)’ voting records (if they have one) and see what special party or parliamentary roles they have, if any.
Remember, there’s no need to be an expert when you meet your MSP. Share your personal story about the local nature you love, why it matters to you, and what you’d like your MSP to do to help protect and restore it. Show them your passion for the issues you raise, but keep your tone constructive, stay neutral about political parties, and avoid getting angry or confrontational. You want to build a relationship that lets you keep discussing issues for years to come.
Join our webinar
Join us on June 18 at 7:30pm-8:30pm to learn more about having productive conversations with your MSP, building a relationship with them, deciding what to ask and making sure you leave with a commitment, as well as the best ways to stay in touch and follow up afterwards. There will also be plenty of time to ask questions during the webinar. Whether you’ve met your MSP before, or this is your first time engaging with a politician, we’ll have tips that can help you speak for nature, so sign up below.
If you’d like more support or advice on meeting your MSP, you can email us on campaigns.scotland@rspb.org.uk
Scotland Nature Surgeries Webinar
June 18, 2026 7:30pm.
After your MSP meeting
It's a good idea to send a follow-on email to your MSP within 24 hours of meeting them. You can thank them for their time and remind them of your main discussion points and any commitments they made in the meeting. Make sure you keep track of whether they keep their commitments too. If they do, get in touch to thank them. If they don’t, reach out to gently remind them of your discussion and ask when they’ll take the action they agreed to.
Then, congratulate yourself! Meeting your MSP is a great way to speak up for nature so take a moment to celebrate the work you put in. And thank you from us at the RSPB for doing your part for nature.