Boy, 11, gives up screen time for wildlife cause

Although Huw loves gaming, he started the no screen fundraising challenge to support Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue

An 11-year old boy has given up spending time on electronic devices for a month in hopes to raise money for a wildlife charity.

Huw, from Didcot, Oxfordshire, has challenged himself to not use screens for gaming or watching videos from 20 November until 19 December.

His cause is to raise money for Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue that needs £250,000 to buy its own land.

His mother said it would be "some feat" as Huw's brother would still be gaming.

The rules of Huw's challenge are not to use Xbox or tablet for gaming or watching YouTube videos, and only use a mobile phone for communication and photos.

Watching TV is allowed but not to make up for the lost screen time.

So far, Huw he has raised £250 out of his £750 target.

His mother, Elianne, thought going screen-free would "capture people's imagination" as it would be "a pretty big sacrifice".

Huw said the challenge was "very hard", especially as his brother keeps gaming right next to him.

"When I had screens, as soon as I came home from school I went pretty much straight on my tablet, playing Roblox," he said.

Huw said his uncle Trevor had helped him get into wildlife by making a bug box so that he could observe the lives of insects.

Huw said that his uncle Trevor started helping him explore wildlife

Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue's founder Luke Waclawek said Hugh was "setting the president for a lot of kids out there".

"But ... it's even more heart-warming because the next generation caring this much about wildlife is an inspiration and it's quite encouraging for the future," Mr Waclawek said.

He invited the family for a tour of the rescue's site in the new year.

Huw said he was especially looking forward to meeting Kevin the fox, who the boy hopes to be able to stroke.

Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue's founder Luke Waclawek said Huw's fundraiser was "heart-warming" and "encouraging"