TV presenter Chris Packham to visit King's Dyke Nature Reserve in Whittlesey for 'wildlife audit'

TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham is coming to King's Dyke Nature Reserve in Whittlesey on Sunday morning (July 22) as part of the first independent 'wildlife audit' of its kind in the UK.
Chris PackhamChris Packham
Chris Packham

The goal of Chris’ Bioblitz campaign is to investigate the extent to which the nation’s wildlife species are under threat and to meet local people and raise money for local projects supporting the conservation of wildlife habitats.

Chris began his campaign in the Scottish Highlands and is spending 10 days travelling with his team across Northern Ireland, Wales and parts of England.

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Forterra’s King’s Dyke is one of the 50 sites Chris is visiting as part of Bioblitz.

Chris PackhamChris Packham
Chris Packham

The nature reserve, in Peterborough Road, will be one of the beneficiaries of the fundraising campaign.

Chris said: “I need to see it for myself. I need to meet the people with their fingers on the pulse of our wildlife the length and breadth of the UK, those unsung heroes, the great British naturalists who know their stuff and are making a difference. I’m excited and terrified at the same time.

“I love learning and seeing new places and species but I fear that I will also bear witness to a landscape in huge trouble. I want to spread an awareness of the successes and failures and to raise some money to help combat the latter.”

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The UK Bioblitz team includes hundreds of experts, species specialists, young conservationists and film makers all working together to highlight the state of our wildlife and the need for urgent centralised action to ensure we have wildlife everywhere, as nature reserves are not enough.

The campaign is crowdfunded, with all monies raised being distributed back into grass roots front-line conservation projects visited throughout the campaign, as well as The National Autistic Society.

Philip Parker, who runs King's Dyke Nature Reserve, said, “We’re really looking forward to Chris and his team’s visit and will be working throughout the weekend to gather information about local wildlife. We hope to also welcome visitors on the day and learn about the natural environment by exploring our nature reserve.”

To find out more about the nature reserve, visit www.kingsdykenaturereserve.com. Visit www.chrispackham.co.uk to follow the Bioblitz across the UK.

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To join the Facebook event, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/221259578624823/.

To follow Chris on Twitter, visit: https://twitter.com/ChrisGPackham?lang=en/

For more information about Forterra, visit www.forterra.co.uk.