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Gloucestershire Business News

Funding for green and pleasant Gloucestershire

Projects across Gloucestershire will benefit from a share of £40million from the Government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund.

Gloucestershire Wildfire Trust will receive £250,000 to rebuild landscapes across the county, while the Woodland Trust and National Trust will use £3,860,200 to restore 60 woodland areas across the South West with the Vincent Wildlife Trust receiving £180,000 to secure horseshoe bat roosts.

And the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, based at Slimbridge, will receive £1.6million to safeguard the Somerset coast from the impact of climate change with a focus on creating and restoring 130 hectares of wildlife habitats.

The Wildlife Trust funding will go towards the Rebuilding Landscapes for Nature's Recovery project which will focus on priority habitat and threatened species in the Forest of Dean and Golden Valley until March 2022.

Director for nature's recovery Gareth Parry said: "Not only will it enable us to expand our existing delivery programmes and reintroduction work for pine marten and the large blue butterfly, it will help us to support our practical volunteering across these areas and build on our work with landowners in the Golden Valley.

"The funding will also enable the creation and training of a volunteer citizen science team to support the ground habitat survey of our Nature Recovery Network, as well as funding four new staff roles to deliver the whole Rebuilding Landscapes programme.

Cadora Woods at St Briavels and Laycombe Wood, Wotton-under-Edge are among the sites which will benefit from the money for the Woodland Trust and National Trust as part of a 15-month project due to start in January.

Woodland Trust chief executive Dr Darren Moorcroft said: "Green recovery begins with sustaining and nurturing the best of what we have.

"Ancient trees and woods are the Westminster Abbeys of our terrestrial habitats and are culturally resonant landmarks.

"Restoring them will be a cornerstone in wider landscape renewal and nature recovery."

The Vincent Wildlife Trust project includes a location in Gloucestershire as it looks to protect the rare horseshoe bat species.

Bat programme manager Dr Anita Glover said: "By enhancing roosts using proven techniques such as the installation of hot and cool boxes to provide a range of stable microclimates, we can significantly reduce the negative impacts of climate change.

"This funding could not have come at a better time to help us ensure the current recovery of our horseshoe bats is sustained."

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