A partnership of seven leading UK conservation organisations, led by Natural England, has been formed to protect the country’s most vulnerable wildlife; such as the Sand Lizard, Grey Long-eared Bat, Willow Tit and Duke of Burgundy Butterfly. A total of 138 species will be protected by the new ‘Back From The Brink’ project, following the £4.6 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The money will be used to conserve 20 species which are deemed to be close to extinction, as well as providing resources to improve the survival rates of another 118 species and hopefully provide a long-term framework for wildlife conservation in which the government will work closely with charities and volunteers.

The Partnership for Species Conservation, comprised of the RSPB, Buglife, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, the Bat Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, Plantlife and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, will jointly run the initiative alongside the government agency, Natural England. The funding will enable conservation fieldwork to be carried out at over 30 sites across England, contributing to the government’s Biodiversity 2020 strategy and Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme. One of the key aims of the Back From The Brink project is to raise the public’s awareness of British wildlife declines and provide an opportunity for people to become more engaged with their local nature.

The project commences in 2016 and will run for four years.