Tag: endangered species

Dobbies’ Edinburgh store partners with Red Squirrel Survival Trust

Garden Centre hosts free Grow How session on endangered species


Dobbies, the UK’s leading garden centre, is announcing its support for national conservation charity, The Red Squirrel Survival Trust, ahead of Red Squirrel Awareness Week (2-8 October).

Dobbies are partnering to raise awareness of this endangered species at the free-to-attend Grow How session in Edinburgh, sharing advice on how everyone can create an inviting habitat for the red squirrel on Saturday 7 October at 10:30am.  

Spotting a red squirrel is a rarity. According to the UK Squirrel Accord the population has fallen from a high of around 3.5m in the UK, to the current estimate of 287,000. Around 75% of the population are found in Scotland.

In a bid to protect the biodiversity of Britain’s native woodlands, Dobbies and the Trust are highlighting the trees and plants that gardeners can grow in their outside space, to encourage and support red squirrels.

Grow How attendees in Edinburgh will learn all about these small agile animals, known for their fiery red coat, distinctive ear tufts and a bushy brown tail, and gain an understanding of the vital role they play in the ecosystem by spreading and regenerating tree species in native forestry and dispersing several species of fungi.

Autumn is a great season to spot red squirrels, and sightings often happen in mixed or broadleaf woodlands as these make for brilliant habitats. Dobbies’ horticultural experts will outline the best trees and plants to have in the garden and what can be done to encourage this creature to visit.

Walnut, hazelnut and holly trees are excellent food sources for red squirrels, and sunflower seeds, bramble and raspberry plants provide the creatures with an abundance of nutrients. These products can be purchased from Edinburgh.

Dobbies’ Horticultural Director, Marcus Eyles, is eager to help the nation create a safe environment for the species to thrive. He said: “It’s important that our gardens provide a welcome home to a vast variety of wildlife, and there’s been a real emphasis on creating wildlife friendly areas, corridors, water and feeding zones to help protect a range of species. 

“Red squirrels enjoy a natural food source which make for a great addition to your borders, beds and planters. We hope this informal yet informative educational session provides our customers at Edinburgh with the knowledge they need to help us come together and make a real difference, starting with our gardens.”

In his capacity as an ambassador for the Red Squirrel Survival Trust, Alan Titchmarsh, Britain’s best loved gardener, is working to encourage gardeners to plant trees and shrubs which will help feed our native red squirrels.

“There are trees and shrubs suitable for gardens of all sizes and by planting them now they will grow and mature and be ready for when the reds squirrels come home,” says Alan. 

“A plentiful supply of appropriate food and fresh water is essential for the reds to breed. The most popular growing sources are walnuts, hazelnuts, conifer seeds, holly berries, crab apples, wild and bird cherries, Bullace, Dogrose and Guelder rose hips.”

The Red Squirrel Survival Trust Campaign Director, Vanessa Fawcett, is working with Dobbies to help make Alan’s recommendations available from their garden centres nationwide. 

She said: “It’s great to be partnering with Dobbies as we raise awareness of the declining population size of the red squirrel. There’s plenty we can do to nurture this animal and give it the best chance at survival, and I look forward to seeing the nation get involved this October.”

Get the whole family involved in Red Squirrel Awareness Week and head along to Dobbies’ free-to-attend Grow How session in Edinburgh. For more information about how to take part, visit Events | Dobbies Garden Centres


To find out more about the conservation work Red Squirrel Survival Trust is doing to protect this endangered species, visit www.rsst.org.uk

Funding boost will help protect the world’s most endangered animals

UK government awards nearly £40 million to more than 80 projects through the Darwin Initiative and Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund

  • Projects from Ghana to Ecuador will support global action to protect wildlife and reverse biodiversity loss
  • Next round of funding also opens to new projects, building on government’s target to halt biodiversity loss by 2030

Threatened plants and animals, including elephants and pangolins are set to be protected thanks to new UK government funding announced today.

Over 80 conservation projects across the globe will benefit from nearly £40 million funding aimed at boosting international biodiversity, supporting the communities that live alongside nature and tackling illegal wildlife trade.

Some of the successful projects include:

  • Support for the International Snow Leopard Trust to provide specialised training to combat the poaching of snow leopards in countries like Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Pakistan;
  • Supporting the work of the Wildlife Conservation Society to reduce demand for collagen rich Pangolin scales in Traditional Chinese Medicine;
  • Supporting the Zoological Society of London’s effort to create sustainable ways for humans and elephants to coexist in areas such as Thailand, where they are often in conflict.

Environment minister Trudy Harrison said: ““The fantastic projects announced today will enhance efforts to protect threatened wildlife, support economic growth of developing countries and drive nature recovery.

“The UK is a global champion when it comes to biodiversity and driving action to halt and reverse the decline of nature. I am proud that – through our Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund and the Darwin Initiative – we will continue to play a leading role in conservation efforts around the world.”

Dr Charudutt Mishra, from the International Snow Leopard Trust said: “The snow leopard, an iconic species of Asia’s high mountains, is threatened by retaliatory killing due to their predation on livestock, and illegal trade of its pelt and other body parts.

“With support from the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, we are empowering local and indigenous communities of High Asia with livelihood and conflict management initiatives to enable them to better coexist with snow leopards, and to support conservation efforts.

“We are also helping rangers improve their capacity and motivation in Illegal Wildlife Trade disruption with training, resources and enhanced social recognition in three countries.”

Chair of the Darwin Expert Committee Professor E.J. Milner-Gulland said: “I’m thrilled that the Darwin Initiative is funding such a wide range of outstanding projects, which will improve both biodiversity and human wellbeing in such a diversity of ways and in so many places.

“These projects bring fresh thinking and new ideas to conservation practice, produce evidence to support better conservation, as well as building the capacity of the next generation of conservationists around the world.

“It was a pleasure and honour to support Defra in their selection of these projects and I look forward to a new set of exciting proposals in the upcoming 30th round of the Darwin Initiative.”

The Darwin Initiative, a grants scheme to conserve and restore biodiversity and the communities that live alongside in developing countries, supported 63 of these successful projects with over £31.5 million funding. Projects will conserve nature-rich areas in developing countries and support communities who live and work in biodiverse areas to build resilience to climate change.

The Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund has supported 21 projects through £7.8 million funding to enhance the protection of threatened species. The projects will protect species including elephants, pangolins and threatened timber – and cement our leading role in cracking down on the £17 billion a year illegal wildlife trade which fuels corruption, deprives communities of sustainable livelihoods and degrades ecosystems.  

The UK is a global leader in supporting efforts to halt the decline in nature, protect wildlife and restore the natural world. Our efforts will help to deliver on the ambitious new global deal for nature agreed at the UN Nature Summit COP15 in December, which will protect 30% of our land and ocean by 2030.

Today’s announcement also confirms that the launch of Round 10 of the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund and Round 30 of the Darwin Initiative will be opening to applications in May 2023. Projects will soon be able to access up to a further £40 million funding building on the government’s commitment to combat biodiversity loss and improve animal welfare standards.

Further projects funded over the next five years include:

Darwin Initiative:

  • Beekeepers Restore the Forests of Afram Plains: this project will provide training for 1,000 beekeepers on topics including wildfire management and forest restoration, while mobilising communities to help curb illegal logging in Ghana.
  • Scaling rights-based approaches for conservation and poverty reduction in Indonesia: this locally led project is working to scale up an approach developed over the past seven years to advance the rights of indigenous communities, improve socio-economic conditions, and conserve biodiversity across Indonesia.
  • Building Capacity for Reciprocal Watershed Agreements in the Tropical Andes: this project will help roll out Reciprocal Watershed Agreements, where residents will be supported to develop projects that protect forests and wildlife while providing new livelihood opportunities for local communities. The funding will help to scale up the project, building capacity and capability across Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund:

  • Furs For Life – Preserving Culture, Protecting Nature: this project empowers women-led enterprises in Zambia and South Africa to produce synthetic fur garments, replacing authentic wild cat skin garments in local communities.
  • Conservation Litigation & Wildlife (CLAW): this project explores innovative ways to hold perpetrators of Illegal Wildlife Trade accountable by using liability laws to demand that they provide remedies for the damage they cause.
  • Unlocking DNA barcoding to identify illegal timber: this project will work to overcome the technical challenges proving a barrier to timber identification – a technique vital to improving the detection and prevention of the illegal timber trade.

Further Information

Round 10 of the IWTCF will open for new applications on Monday 1st May 2023. For more information on previous projects as well as how to apply please visit: https://iwt.challengefund.org.uk/

Facing extinction: Half of UK’s butterfly species on latest Red List

  • 24 species of butterfly are now listed as threatened – including 8 that are Endangered – representing a substantial increase compared with the previous assessment.
  • The risk of extinction is increasing for more species than decreasing.
  • There is some hope for species that have been the focus of intense conservation work and have been brought back from the brink of extinction.

Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is warning that time is running out to save some of Britain’s best-loved insects, with the latest Red List assessment of butterflies published today, revealing a 26% increase in the number of species threatened with extinction.

Using data gathered by volunteers through the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and Butterflies for the New Millennium recording scheme, scientists from Butterfly Conservation have put together the new Red List, which assesses all the butterfly species that have bred regularly in Great Britain against the rigorous criteria of extinction risk set out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The new Red List is published today in the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity.

Of the 62 species assessed, four are extinct in Britain (Black-veined White, Large Tortoiseshell, Large Copper, and Mazarine Blue) with 24 (41% of the remaining species) classed as threatened (8 Endangered, 16 Vulnerable) and a further five (9%) as Near Threatened.

Head of Science for Butterfly Conservation, Dr Richard Fox, says: “Shockingly, half of Britain’s remaining butterfly species are listed as threatened or Near Threatened on the new Red List.

“Even prior to this new assessment, British butterflies were among the most threatened in Europe, and now the number of threatened species in Britain has increased by five, an increase of more than one-quarter.

“While some species have become less threatened, and a few have even dropped off the Red List, the overall increase clearly demonstrates that the deterioration of the status of British butterflies continues apace.”

While land-use change remains the most important driver of decline, the impact of climate change on butterflies is also evident in the new Red List, with all four British butterflies with northerly distributions, adapted to cooler or damper climates, now listed as threatened (Large Heath, Scotch Argus, Northern Brown Argus) or Near Threatened (Mountain Ringlet).

Both the Large Heath and the Grayling have moved from Vulnerable to Endangered, and seven species have moved from Near Threatened to threatened, including the beautiful Swallowtail and Adonis Blue.

Two new species have been added for the first time, Scotch Argus, which is listed as Vulnerable, and Dark Green Fritillary, listed as Near Threatened.

It isn’t bad news for all butterfly species though, with some improvement in status for those that have been the focus of concentrated conservation effort, offering hope for other species.

The Large Blue, which became extinct in Great Britain in 1979 and has been the subject of an intensive, ongoing, and highly successful reintroduction programme, has moved from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened.

The High Brown Fritillary, also formerly listed as Critically Endangered, has moved to Endangered; likely to be the result of intense conservation work from Butterfly Conservation alongside other organisations.

The Duke of Burgundy and Pearl-bordered Fritillary, which have also benefitted from much targeted conservation effort, both moved from Endangered to Vulnerable.

Dr Richard Fox adds: “Where we are able to target conservation work, we have managed to bring species back from the brink, but with the extinction risk increasing for more species than are decreasing, more must be done to protect our butterflies from the effects of changing land management and climate change.

“Without action it is likely that species will be lost from Britain’s landscapes for good, but Butterfly Conservation is taking bold steps to improve key landscapes for butterflies and reduce the extinction risk of many threatened species.”

The production of the new Red List of British butterflies has been led by Butterfly Conservation with input and funding from Natural England.

The full scientific paper can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12582

Raise a glass to the world’s tallest animal for World Giraffe Day 2021

Today, Glenmorangie has launched a charity cocktail to support the protection of the world’s tallest animal, the giraffe, on the longest day of the year.

 To celebrate World Giraffe Day the commemorative drink crafted by makers of tasty liquor Mothership, will raise funds towards the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), as part of the single malt whisky’s ongoing concerted effort to aid the animal in partnership with GCF and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). 

 The giraffe has long been a beloved symbol of the Highland Distillery. The same height as an adult giraffe, its stills allow more space for taste and aroma, which is why Glenmorangie’s spirit is so wonderfully delicate and fruity.

But the giraffe faces serious threats in the wild, from poaching to habitat loss. Numbers have fallen by almost 30% in just 30 years – and some types are now critically endangered.

Earlier this year, Glenmorangie supported RZSS with the wildlife conservation charity’s creation of a brand new habitat at Edinburgh Zoo, allowing giraffes to return to the capital for the first time in over 15 years.

 Featuring Glenmorangie Original, the ‘Camel Leopard’ cocktail is available online now via Mothership’s website and across its three Edinburgh venues, Bramble, Lucky Liquor and Last Word Saloon.

All proceeds will be donated towards GCF in their efforts to raise awareness of the plight of giraffes. With tropical and fresh notes, the cocktail unfolds with layers of complexity, making it the perfect drink to raise a glass to these magnificent creatures.

 Caspar MacRae, Global Marketing and Business Development Director of The Glenmorangie Company said: “For over 175 years we have created whisky in stills the same height as an adult giraffe, with this wonderful animal becoming a much-loved symbol of our brand.

“It seems only right that we should lend our support to protecting their future through our global conservation partnership with GCF and RZSS.

 “We have been working closely with Jason, Mike and Jon at Mothership for years – having dreamed up many of the delicious Glenmorangie cocktails in the past. Together, we will work to protect giraffes in the wild and shine a light on their predicament before it’s too late.”

 Jason Scott, co-founder of Mothership, added: “We’re pleased to once again collaborate with Glenmorangie, especially on such a special initiative, helping to save giraffes in the wild.

“With a balance of citrus, herbal and tropical flavours, this refreshing cocktail is perfect to raise a glass to the world’s tallest animal and enjoy on a long summer’s day.”

 Available until the 27th of June, Glenmorangie’s charity cocktail, the ‘Camel Leopard’ for World Giraffe Day 2021 is available at: mothershipscotland.com or Mothership’s venues Bramble, Lucky Liquor Co. and Last Word Saloon in Edinburgh.

Celebrating 10 years of coming together to support the corncrake

This year, Skye crofters, farmers, the RSPB and SAC Consulting, part of Scotland’s Rural College, will celebrate 10 years of a collaborative partnership to help secure a future for the island’s corncrake population, which has been on the red endangered list since 1990 with a recorded population of 872 in 2019.

The corncrake is a small, migratory bird that spends its winters in Central and Western Africa and its summers in Northern Europe, but since 1950 the rate of decline in Scotland has accelerated, coinciding with a period when the majority of hay fields were changed to silage production.

By formalising the partnership in 2009 between SAC Consulting, RSPB, NFU Scotland, the Scottish Crofting Federation, and local farmers and crofters, it  provided greater support for land managers to access agri-environment schemes and to improve the island’s corncrake population on a landscape scale.  

Janette Sutherland, Agricultural Consultant with SAC Consulting who facilitates the partnership, said: “The support to crofters and farmers through agri-environment schemes over the past 25 years has been key to the survival of the UK corncrake population and it is critical that we maintain and build on this hard work. With an uncertain future ahead, it is vital that these different groups continue to integrate.

“A real highlight of the partnership so far has been the positive conversations between the conservationists and all of the island’s active crofters and farmers, and how they can work together. To protect corncrakes, we need crofters and farmers to implement the measures on the ground, and part of SAC Consulting’s role is to highlight what practical methods and management techniques they can employ to benefit the species.”

As corncrakes make their way south to Africa for the winter, there are still concerns, despite the efforts from all parties, about the declining population.

“The corncrake population in Skye is instrumental in expanding its geographical range to mainland areas such as Lochalsh and Glenelg,” said Janette.

“Unfortunately, the number of corncrakes is dropping across the board and although researchers are exploring some theories, it is unclear what is driving the losses. With such a small population, working in partnership is all vitally important to their future survival.”

Currently there are 140-hectares under management on the Isle of Skye as part of the Scottish Government’s Agri Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) which provided funding to crofters and farmers to manage their silage and grazed fields differently to support corncrakes.

“There are practical methods that can be used on ‘high nature value’ landscapes to benefit the species, such as delayed mowing, corncrake friendly mowing and leaving uncut areas of grassland on field margins to provide cover for birds; curtailing grazing to preserve areas of tall vegetation in spring and summer, allowing birds to nest and raise broods; and, establishing clumps of tall plants such as iris, nettles, meadowsweet, cow parsley or hogweed,” commented Janette.

Shelagh Parlane, RSPB corncrake officer, said: “The corncrake is notoriously shy and likes tall vegetation. That’s why we encourage crofters and farmers to create areas of early growing vegetation, so the birds have somewhere to hide when they come back to the islands in early spring.

“The environment, nature, and local agricultural businesses are interdependent; successful and thriving agricultural systems can provide and support a rich diversity of species which is to the benefit of all of us. Corncrakes rely on crofting and farming and, with a small number of adjustments that can be compensated for through agri-environment schemes, it is possible for both to thrive.

“We look forward to the partnership playing a role in the Corncrake Calling Project, which has been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, over the next few years.”    

Local children stage panto to highlight conservation fears

A group of young people from North Edinburgh are set to become exponents for nature conservation when they perform a panto to highlight conservation issues at North Edinburgh Arts this weekend. The performance is the culmination of an innovative project involving The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh-based Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the Lyceum Youth Theatre Discover Programme, North Edinburgh Arts and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

The group – who are all aged between 9 and 12 and live in Muirhouse, Pilton and Granton – have been working with conservation experts to learn about the importance of saving endangered species and habitats. The project – which is unique in its involvement of Edinburgh’s leading academic, conservation, and performing arts organisations – will culminate with the young people informing their local communities about conservation issues, through the performance – on Saturday 26 January – of a pantomime they have developed with the support of North Edinburgh Arts.

The young people will also go to Edinburgh Zoo for a ‘behind the scenes’ visit as part of the project, to learn about endangered animals first hand.

Speaking in advance of Saturday’s conservation-themed pantomime, project coordinator Naomi Webster – who is currently a visiting research fellow at Edinburgh University’s ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum, and works as Education Officer for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust , said:  “Young people have a natural interest in animals and wildlife, but often don’t realise just how endangered many creatures are or how organisations like Durrell and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland are working to save them from extinction. This project has enabled us to work with children in an innovative way to help them appreciate the importance of nature conservation, and to allow them to show their families and communities what they have learnt, by producing and performing their own conservation-themed pantomime.”

Kate Wimpress, Director of North Edinburgh Arts, said:  “North Edinburgh Arts works with young people throughout North Edinburgh, through creative initiatives such as drama workshops, to encourage them to explore issues and develop understanding. Collaborating with the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Zoo and the Lyceum Youth Theatre on this initiative has enabled us to help young people to gain a greater understanding of conservation in an engaging, yet fun way. I know our young performers are very excited about both their trip to the zoo, and producing and performing their own conservation-themed pantomime.”

ESRCgenomics