Wiltshire Wildlife Trust has been acknowledged by The National Lottery for the vital work they do in protecting land and nature across Wiltshire, Swindon and the South West by featuring in the newly opened exhibition ‘Habitats of Hope’ in Horniman Museum and Gardens, in South London this winter.

Alex Atkinson, 27, works as Conservation Lead at the organisation, striving to preserve habitats for rare and endangered species of wildlife. Atkinson currently leads on preserving and restoring butterfly conservation areas in the chalk downs.

Since 1994 almost £2bn of National Lottery funding has been awarded to 4,600 land, nature and biodiversity projects by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, helping to protect animals and wildlife with more investment to come. 

One of the projects in the chalk downs focuses on the Adonis Blue, one of the rarest blue butterflies around which has protected status in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

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"Having butterflies around is always a good indicator of a high-quality habitat because a lot of qualities need to be right for them to flourish,” he said.

"The nature reserve at the chalk downs that we look after in Wiltshire is so important to the Adonis Blue because they have a symbiosis with certain species of ants.

"They lay their larvae on the ground and the ants will take them underground throughout the winter to protect them in return for the nectar they create for the ants.

"Our reserve work is important because these chalk downs need to be undisturbed for them to work, meaning they can't always be ploughed for agriculture or have different nutrients added, which can hurt these habitats, having a knock-on effect for a lot of wildlife."

The National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £814,100 towards the purchase and restoration of land at Coombe Bissett Down nature reserve was awarded to Wiltshire Wildlife Trust in September 2017.

 

"The Natonal Lottery funding has been completely crucial for us as it allowed us to buy the first bit of the Coombe Bissett Down in 1995,” said Atkinson.

Since then, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust now protects 71 hectares in the reserve, creating a rich and biodiverse landscape for the Adonis Blue and other wildlife.

 

“One of the main issues we're facing is the soil degradation and stripping of nutrients from the soil, which is really apparent in grasslands.

So, we need to pave the way to sustainably manage these through our protection of lands and regenerative farming in the Coombe Bissett Down."

During COP28, The National Lottery has unveiled an immersive exhibition, Habitats of Hope, created by Georgia Tucker at Horniman Museum and Gardens, to bring awareness to various species across the United Kingdom that face extinction. 

 

The exhibition showcases the positive impact the £30 million raised every week by National Lottery players for good causes has had on preserving land and nature across the UK through work such as that at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, which Atkinson can only hope will lead to a future of awareness and wider landscape conservation.

"We want to push to more landscape-style conservation in the future," he added.

"Historically our nature reserves have been biodiverse, but the rest of the county can do what they like; we need to change that  by creating wildlife corridors in collaboration with other landowners to enable butterflies and other wildlife to spread from their initial breeding habitat at our reserves across the wider landscape of Wiltshire and beyond.

"Our reserve can be the core, but we need to make the areas around it suitable for wildlife to thrive in as well.

"It's about using our resources to encourage people to understand the intrinsic value of preserving the nature."

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, added: “In the UK, one in six species are at risk of extinction, from the beloved hedgehog to the lesser-known Narrow-headed Ant. Every species plays a significant role in the natural ecosystem, whether it be pollinating our food crops, reducing flooding, or decomposing and recycling our waste. The ‘Habitats of Hope’ exhibition spotlights the vital work that our nature organisations do in protecting our unique natural heritage. Through our new 10-year strategy, Heritage 2033, the National Lottery Heritage Fund will be investing even more in helping nature to recover across both rural and urban landscapes, as well as helping more people to enjoy and connect with nature.”