WETLAND bird habitats in Upton Warren will gain a new lease of life through Natural England grant funding to boost habitat creation.
Worcestershire Wildlife Trust have benefited from Natural England’s multi-million pound Species Recovery Programme and intend to revive and preserve breeding sites and feeding habitats for wetland birds in Upton Warren.
The wildlife trust will restore and protect degraded islands and create a new island within the the Flashes saline lagoon and freshwater Moors pool with their Upton Warren Reserve Ecological Enhancement.
63 projects across the country, including the Upton Warren Reserve Ecological Enhancement, have today (September 14) been awarded a share of the £14.5 million Natural England fund, with 150 of
England’s most rare and threatened species expected to benefit from the recovery efforts.
England’s wildlife is facing extreme pressures, with habitat fragmentation, climate change and invasive species creating huge declines, with average species abundance falling by 52%.
Numbers of the Duke of Burgundy Butterfly, for example, have declined by some 50% in the last 20 years.
The Species Recovery Programme Grant Scheme, which awarded funding to successful applicants, will now look to combat the decline.
Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, said: “Nature is in drastic decline all around us, with England now one of the most nature depleted countries in Earth.
“Many once common animals and plants are much reduced with some 15 percent of species at risk of becoming extinct here.
“It’s a dire situation, but can still be turned around.
“We know this because we’ve seen the population of the once endangered Bittern rise dramatically, the recovery of the Fen Raft Spider and Water Voles successfully reintroduced to areas from where they had previously been lost.
“The partnership projects we are highlighting today demonstrate the power of collaborative action to reverse species decline and we look forward to seeing positive practical progress as a result of the investments being made.”
