Help for species facing extinction

This week marks the official launch of Back from the Brink, one of the most ambitious conservation programmes in England.

The project aims to bring 20 of the country’s most threatened species back from the brink of extinction.

Backed by £4.6million in National Lottery funding, it is the first national coordinated effort to bring a wide range of charities and conservation bodies together to save ancient trees, which support more than 2,000 species. Centuries-old oaks are home to a huge number of invertebrates, mosses and lichens, as well as birds and mammals.

England has more ancient oaks than the rest of Europe – but this quintessentially English tree habitat is declining. This is due to an ‘age gap’, which means there are not enough younger trees maturing to fill the gap when existing ancients die.