Chester Zoo to tackle UK biodiversity declines with new £318,000 funding

The funding, from the National Lottery, will enable the zoo to develop detailed plans to create and restore vital habitats for wildlife, protecting water voles, great crested newts and Britain's most endangered tree, the black poplar.

The Networks for Nature initiative will also provide comprehensive conservation skills training, establish a wellbeing and accessibility programme, engage young people and create volunteering opportunities.

Hannah Brooks, community engagement manager at Chester Zoo, said: “We’re in the midst of a global biodiversity crisis. The UN estimates that one million species are at risk of extinction, including many here in the UK, meaning there’s never been a more pressing time to stand together for nature.

“Maintained through a strong partnership of local organisations, this grant will enable a comprehensive and joined-up response to tackling habitat fragmentation and degradation, and urban isolation from nature.

"We plan to drive nature recovery by creating and connecting a diverse set of habitats for species to thrive now and long into the future, make nature more accessible and inclusive for everyone to improve wellbeing and empower more people to have an active role in conservation, with the skills and knowhow needed to create and grow biodiverse habitats."

Much of Britain’s wildlife is disappearing, with 50 per cent of UK species reported to be in decline.

These include the water vole, the UK's most rapidly declining mammal, which has been lost from 94 per cent of places where they were once prevalent since the 1960s.

The species has declined by 30 per cent in the UK since 2006 due to habitat destruction and water pollution.

Pollution and development have also led to the loss of breeding ponds and dramatic declines in the numbers of great crested newts.