Half of Britons say they don't have time to help the environment, poll claims
Poll comes as reports say 15 per cent of wildlife faces extinction
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Your support makes all the difference.A new survey has found that more than half of Britain wants to do their bit to fix the nation’s growing wildlife crisis, but many just don’t have the time.
This comes as the 2019 State of Nature Report revealed that 15 per cent of wildlife species have been classified as at threat of extinction.
At a time when Britain’s biodiversity is in danger, 56 per cent of the public want to do more to help the natural world.
But a survey by The National Lottery found nearly a third said they don’t have enough time to help wildlife while a fifth (19 per cent) admitted they didn’t know what they could do.
The National Lottery has now teamed up with wildlife expert Chris Packham CBE and entrepreneur Jamal Edwards MBE to show how anyone can do their bit to preserve natural habitats in an increasingly urban world.
They have joined a group of animal lovers from the London Wildlife Trust at Woodberry Wetlands, Hackney, where they built "bug hotels" which are simple structures that can shelter wildlife.
“As a society, we’re more aware than ever of the need to protect natural habitats,” Mr Packham said. “But this new research shows that, while we want to do more to protect our wildlife, lots of people don’t know what practical steps they can take in their daily lives to help.”
Woodberry Wetlands is just one example of 3,500 projects across the UK which exist to help preserve nature, due to funding from The National Lottery.
Over the past 25 years, to help protect and conserve wildlife, The National Lottery has injected £829m into natural heritage conservation across the UK.
This includes £548m on biodiversity projects and £227m supporting important and historic landscapes — including more than 70,000 hectares of land acquisition.
In addition, more than £900m has been spent revitalising more than 900 public parks.
Notable wildlife successes include seabird recovery on Scilly Isles, red squirrels making a comeback in Northern Ireland and the reintroduction of the Chequered Skipper butterfly in Rockingham Forest.
As well as restoring and opening spaces like the Woodberry Wetlands, The National Lottery funding has also helped support endangered animals, flowers and trees.
This included species such as bats, basking sharks, water voles and the great yellow bumble bee.
“Young people are more conscious than ever of their impact on the natural world around them,” Mr Edwards says. “I’ve learned a lot from Chris, and from The Wildlife Trusts, the Woodland Trusts and the RSPB, about how we can create change ourselves.”
He continued: “I’ve been amazed to find out how much funding goes to these brilliant organisations. I never thought that buying a National Lottery ticket could not only make someone a millionaire but could also go towards saving a species or helping conserve nature in the UK.”
SWNS
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