Latest Species Champions News

Matthew Offord to champion the Sandwich Tern

13 November 2018

Matthew, the Conservative MP for Hendon, is to work with the RSPB to champion the Sandwich tern, a seabird that visits the UK in summer to nest on sand and shingle beaches.

Yorkshire MP to champion the sandeel

03 November 2018

Robert Goodwill, Conservative MP for Scarborough and Whitby, is to speak up for the sandeel, a small eel-like fish that lives in the seas around the UK and is a vital part of the marine food web.

MP installs another [swift] brick in the wall

20 September 2018

Kerry McCarthy, the Bristol East MP and champion of the swift visited a Barratt Homes development in Bristol and installed a swift brick. The bricks can provide the birds with an unobstrusive synthetic nest site and are part of a major effort to boost the population of declining swifts.

Health and Social Care Secretary to champion the dormouse

11 September 2018

Matt Hancock, the MP for West Suffolk, will be supporting the People’s Trust for Endangered Species by championing the hazel dormouse. This small mammal, with its large eyes and furry tail, can be found in some of Suffolk’s woodlands and hedgerows.

Bristol MP species champions visit nature friendly development

01 August 2018

Kerry McCarthy and Thangam Debbonaire, champions for the swift and shrill carder bee respectively, were given a guided tour of the work on the new student building at the University of Bristol – Brunel House. The developers have created a biodiversity friendly development which includes a planting scheme that supports pollinators and the provision of swift boxes to the exterior of the building.

A new species champion for the corn bunting

17 July 2018

Victoria Prentis MP for North Oxfordshire, will be working with the RSPB to champion one of our declining farmland birds, the corn bunting. These birds were once a common sight in the countryside, with a song that sounds like jangling keys!

South West MPs sweep the board at the Species Champions Annual Awards

02 July 2018

Kerry McCarthy MP, Derek Thomas MP and Peter Heaton-Jones MP all received awards at the second Annual Awards event that took place in Westminster. The awards were presented by Mike Dilger from the BBC’s The One Show and Kit Stoner, the chief executive of Bat Conservation Trust, spoke passionately about the importance of species conservation and what MPs can do to help threatened wildlife.

Suffolk MP visits one of the UK’s few remaining strongholds for turtle doves

07 June 2018

James Cartlidge, the new species champion for turtle dove, visited a farm in his South Suffolk constituency to learn about the work being done to help conserve the species.