The State of Nature Report 2023 confirmed 1 in 6 of our precious UK wildlife species are at risk of extinction and there has been an 18% decline in pollinators. We are already working hard to reverse this decline, but we need to go further.

So far thanks to our work, the Manchester argus butterfly (also known as the large heath butterfly) is back on Astley Moss after more than 100 years and the population is thriving.

Carnivorous plants on our peatlands including iconic species such as sundews, bladderwort and sphagnum moss have been returned to benefit wildlife and the environment. 

As part of the Fylde Sand Dunes project, we released a total of 412 captive-bred sand lizard hatchlings onto the dunes between 2017-21. Sand lizards are one of the UK's rarest reptiles, unfortunately confined to just few sites as destruction of their habitat has massively reduced their range, so reintroduction programmes (like this one) have helped to establish new populations.

We can’t stop there. We need to continue our species monitoring to ensure we can make a difference where wildlife needs it the most. Your donation could support our continued work creating vital habitats for willow tit populations in Wigan and our work to bring back the red squirrel population from the brink in Merseyside.

86% of important habitats need urgent restoration and 93% of woodlands need urgent care. 

The creation of Nature Recovery Networks is a vital step towards this much needed habitat restoration. We have been instrumental in creating these networks across our region, working in partnership with landowners and organisations of all sizes.

Our decades of work have seen the first ever National Nature Reserve designation for its urban wildlife – The Wigan and Leigh National Nature Reserve. We have brought vital peatland habitats back from the brink across The Chat Moss network in Manchester and worked in partnership to restore and protect the dune habitat on the Fylde Coast.

Your donation could help us continue our work to map priority areas for new nature recovery networks and allow us to work in partnership to make them happen.

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust acts a voice for wildlife when it comes to development, checking hundreds of planning applications every year, to prevent negative outcomes for wildlife in our region. 

We are inspiring the next generation of nature protectors through our environmental education programmes, reaching over 20,000 children each year. Our My Wild City work in Manchester influenced the city’s biodiversity strategy, and created hundreds of mini nature reserves in gardens across the borough through the My Wild Garden initiative.

Our work at the Witton Greenhouse project in Blackburn has seen dozens of organisations and hundreds of people from all backgrounds come together to transform a derelict community space into a thriving hub for food-growing, sustainability and wellbeing.

Our incredible Nature and Wellbeing programmes connect people with nature and have a huge impact on their mental wellbeing. For every £1 invested in our work, we are saving the NHS up to £2.16 in additional costs.

Communities are at the heart of nature’s recovery- if we can empower 1 in 4 people to take meaningful action for nature, this can be the tipping point for wider social change. Your donation can help us get there faster, connect more communities with nature and transform the future of our local wildlife.

The State of Nature report showed a 54% decline in UK plant species. The nature emergency and climate emergency are interlinked. Climate change is driving nature’s decline, and the loss of wildlife and wild places leaves us ill-equipped to reduce carbon emissions and adapt to climate change. With further investment, we can begin to turn the tide. 

We have nature-based climate solutions in abundance. Our ground breaking work with peatland restoration has seen these globally important habitats brought back from the brink. The State of Nature report said 75% of precious peatlands need restoring - so we can't stop there. Restored peatlands have the incredible ability to lock away carbon from our atmosphere – they really are the superheroes of climate change. 

We've been working on the ground to restore nature since 1962. We protect and restore important habitats that lock carbon safely away and limit the effects of climate change, including peatlands, saltmarshes, wetlands and ancient woodland. There is so much more we can do to tackle climate change on land and at sea with your help.  

A huge thank you from everyone at The Lancashire Wildlife Trust for choosing to support our appeal.

Card, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay online
Please click on any of the links or buttons displayed above. You will be directed to a form where you can enter and change the amount that you would like to give.

Card by phone
Please call 01772 324129 - option 1, between 9am and 5pm Monday – Friday.

Cheque by post
Cheques can be made payable to "The Lancashire Wildlife Trust" and sent to us at:

The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside,
The Barn,
Berkeley Drive,
Bamber Bridge,
Preston,
PR5 6BY

If you would like to discuss your donation, please email Jenny Johnson, Head of Marketing and Income Generation: jjohnson@lancswt.org.uk

Yes! If you're ready to take on a personal challenge to step up for wildlife, then you can fundraise towards our appeal - take a look at our fundraising pack here.

We have big ambitions with this appeal, centred around:

• Bringing back our lost wildlife 
• Creating nature recovery networks  
• Put nature at the heart of communities  
• Tackling the climate emergency  

We will carefully spend your donation on our main appeal aims, which are listed above. Should the opportunity arise, we may also use it as match funding to unlock larger pots of money made available to us. However it is spent, we will ensure your donation has the highest possible impact in fighting for nature's recovery.

The time has come to step up for wildlife. We need to raise every penny we can to ensure wildlife stands a chance of recovery.

We must act fast, with ambition, and at scale. And to do that we need your help. We have the solutions, experienced staff and dedicated volunteers. We can work with communities, landowners and other organisations to put nature into recovery. 

We know this is an ambitious target, but a large target could allow us to acquire more land, reintroduce more species and create more habitats for wildlife.

This appeal is our first step towards our long-term vision for the future. We want to see a societal change; a world where wildlife is integral to our lives and future generations. 

If we don’t meet our campaign target, we will still be able to make a huge impact for nature's recovery and step up for wildlife with the donations raised. As this campaign is part of our core work, there is no risk it will become invalid. If we exceed our target, this would mean we can speed up our work. We want to make a big impact, and this means having big goals and a grand scale of the work we want to undertake.

YES! Please reach out to us if you are able to contribute to our appeal via your business, we'd love to hear from you. Please email mkelsall@lancswt.org.uk for more information.