HERTS and Middlesex Wildlife Trust has launched a fund-raising campaign to protect the future of some wildlife species, which it says are at crisis point.

It cites the number of brown hares, thought to have declined by more than 80% in the past 100 years, turtle doves, whose numbers have plummeted by 99% since the 1960s, common toads and some flowering plant species.

The trust is the leading voice for conservation in the counties, with more than 23,500 members and 1,100 active volunteers. This year marks the charity’s 60th anniversary.

Chloë Edwards, its Director of Nature Recovery, says: “We have the solutions and skills to reverse the devastating declines we are seeing and to restore nature.

“Our campaign is looking to raise £280,000 from supporters and people who care about the wildlife and wild spaces on their doorsteps.

“We know we are not alone in feeling the pinch of rising costs, but we all need a world where we can breathe, and thrive amidst the sights, sounds and colours of nature.”

During the trust’s 60-year history, its achievements include:

  • Buying Old Park Wood Nature Reserve in Harefield, an ancient woodland which offers a spectacular display of bluebells and other wildflowers
  • Taking on management of Stocker’s Lake in Rickmansworth, which is nationally important for wintering birds (1982).
  • Campaigning against a viaduct being built across Broadwater Lake Nature Reserve in Harefield, as part of HS2 construction, and
  • An ongoing bid to protect Broadwater Lake from council development plans that it says would devastate wildlife.

To support the rust’s work, go to hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/crisis