Wildlife Conservation Charity Receives £472,400 Grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
Last Updated: Monday 1st September 2014, 12:34
Wildlife conservation charity Froglife will receive a £472,400 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to help preserve and restore the habitats of amphibians living in the River Nene in the East of England.
The grant will provide vital funding for the charity which encourages local people and visitors to get involved in habitat management, species identification and monitoring. The charity also wants to raise awareness of a number of threatened amphibian species in the UK as newts, frogs and other species have been hit hard by habitat loss and disease but the matter receives little attention. The grant will be used to fund the charity’s River Nene Dragon Finder project which will, over the next four and a half years, bring local people together to work on improving and creating 150 habitat sites for local wildlife. The charity also plans to use part of the grant money to hold “Dragon Boat Festivals” and family fun days that will help locals get acquainted with the creatures that call the River Nene home so that Froglife can raise awareness about their plight. According to the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 59 percent of amphibians and 42 percent of reptiles in Europe are in decline.
Kathy Wormald, the CEO of Froglife, said that the grant would provide them with “an excellent opportunity to inspire local communities in the East of England about amphibians and reptiles and their intriguing lives, whilst also introducing people to the many local green spaces on our doorsteps that can be enjoyed by all.”
Wormald went on to say that the grant money given to them by the HLF would also provide valuable employment opportunities in the area, with two traineeships in development that would focus on valuable training in wildlife preservation and interaction with the wider community.
If you’d like to help out great causes while giving yourself a chance to beat the odds and win it big, then make sure that you buy your Lotto tickets for the draw on Wednesday 3rd September. The jackpot for the draw will be worth £2.1 million and 50 lucky winners will also snap up a guaranteed £20,000 each in the supplementary Lotto Raffle. The National Lottery website is currently undergoing a makeover but you can buy your tickets online from Monday night or visit an authorised retailer before then to make a purchase in person. Good luck!