Manx wildlife charity's efforts to reduce biodiversity decline

Project Puffin is an ongoing initiative on the Calf of Man

A charity has launched a plan to back a series of 10 projects designed to halt the decline of biodiversity.

The Manx Wildlife Trust's (MWT) said its mission had been elevated during the its 50th anniversary year.

A spokesman for the charity said projects in the Action for Wildlife programme were ready to "start delivering real results".

"Reversing biodiversity loss needs to be immediate and effective, before it is too late," he said.

Among the active projects underway was a three-acre habitat for 20 rare wildflower species and a project on the Calf of Man to bring back a puffin colony.

Those efforts began in 2016 when 100 decoy birds were spread around the small island, and is expected to take another five years to see success.

Shaking grass is known as quaking grass in the UK

Elsewhere, a number juniper bushes, which had been extinct on the island for 70 years, have been reintroduced along the Mountain Mile.

As well as that, the creation of an orchard of ash trees at Crossags near Ramsey in the north aims to produce a grove of disease resistant trees.

Similarly, the new MWT three-acre nature reserve created at Billown Quarries, will support the rare wildflower species in the south of the island.

Chief executive Leigh Morris said the projects gave them "a clear and stronger focus for our conservation work".

He said: "Our hope and aim is that the whole island gets behind this project and helps us make a real positive difference for these important priority Manx species and habitats.

"This will ensure future generations inherit an Island just as rich in wildlife, which is the greatest legacy we can leave."

The programme has been supported by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, which said the initiative would help meet the goals of the island's biodiversity strategy.