Charity aims to raise £3m to protect wildlife

An owl flies over a meadow after a night of hunting for food in Kent

A Kent conservation charity is aiming to raise £3m to restore wildlife and reverse species decline.

Kent Wildlife Trust says its Nature Restoration Fund will support the efforts to protect and expand the county's most diverse and threatened habitats.

More than 200 species in the county are threatened or endangered and 10% face extinction, according to the State of Nature in Kent 2021 report. It also says almost 80% of rivers, lakes and groundwater bodies are in poor condition.

Evan Bowen-Jones, chief executive, said: "Without public support, nature will continue to vanish."

He said: "Our vision is for a Kent alive with birdsong, buzzing with pollinators, and filled with wild spaces that benefit both people and wildlife."

Spotted Burnet Moths fly in a conservation area of wild flowers in Dover

The charity says the funds will support projects to expand native woodland, restore reedbeds and riverbanks, protect chalk and neutral meadows, and revive rare heathland.

Species expected to benefit include nightingales, dormice, lesser-spotted woodpeckers, beavers, water voles, marsh harriers, reptiles, and specialist birds such as nightjars.

The charity says with Brexit ending major EU grants and fierce competition for grants available in Kent, public funding for conservation "has never been more restricted".

"With costs rising, wildlife and the people working to protect it rely more than ever on the generosity of local communities," Mr Bowen-Jones said.