Latest Species Champions News

11 October 2016

Claire Perry, MP for Devizes, has taken on the role of Species Champion for the broken-belted bumblebee. Having disappeared from most southern and eastern counties, a colony remains on Salisbury Plain, close to Claire’s constituency.

05 October 2016

Butterfly Conservation gets its third champion as Caroline Nokes, MP for Romsey and Southampton North, joins the project to stand up for the Duke of Burgundy, one of the fastest declining butterflies in the UK.

16 September 2016

Huw Merriman, Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle, joins the species champions project to support the endangered long-horned bee, a species found at just a few dozen sites in the UK.

14 September 2016

Eight MP species champions meet Sir David Attenborough at the launch of the second State of Nature report.

17 August 2016

First species champions newsletter sent to MPs

A two page newsletter has been sent to MP species champions, to update them on progress with the project and to show what MPs are doing around the country to help their species.The newsletter will be sent out twice a year.

10 August 2016

Oliver Colvile, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, became the latest recruit. Oliver has agreed to champion the hedgehog and will be supported by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

01 August 2016

At the beginning of August Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge and species champion of the ruderal bumblebee, had a close encounter with a male red tail bumblebee at the Cambridge botanic gardens, which although not his species, inspired him to get to know more about bumblebees. Plans to visit further afield in search of the Ruderal next spring are being made.

27 July 2016

Sir Desmond Swayne, species champion for the smooth snake, visited the New Forest Reptile Centre near Lyndhurst in Hampshire to see a smooth snake. He was able to hear about the New Forest Smooth Snake Survey which uses computer modelling techniques to predict where the species is likely to be found. More about the visit can be found on the New Forest National Park website.

22 July 2016

Gavin Williamson, Chief Whip and Conservative MP for South Staffordshire and species champion for the barn owl, visited a farm in his constituency to see how the land is being managed to benefit wildlife. At the visit Gavin was presented with a poster of his species.

22 July 2016

Neil Carmichael, Conservative MP for Stroud and species champion for the Skylark, visited the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve at Slimbridge. Neil was presented with a poster of his species and learnt more about the species champions project and what needs to be done to help the skylark.