TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham visited Kings Dyke Nature Reserve this weekend, as part of the first independent wildlife audit of its kind in the UK.

The BBC Spring Watch presenter met volunteers and members of the public at Forterra's nature reserve, which is on the site of a former brick quarry, on the morning of Sunday 22nd July as part of his UK Bioblitz campaign.

The goal of the campaign is to investigate the extent to which the nation's wildlife species are under threat, and to raise money for local projects supporting the conservation of wildlife habitats.

Chris kicked off his campaign in the Scottish Highlands on 14th July and has spent 10 days travelling with his team across Northern Ireland, Wales and parts of England. Forterra's Kings Dyke was one of 50 sites Chris visited as part of Bioblitz.

The nature reserve, on Peterborough Road, will be one of the beneficiaries of the fundraising campaign, which people can support by donating on the link below.

Philip Parker, who runs Kings Dyke Nature Reserve, said, “We really appreciated Chris and his team's visit, and worked throughout the weekend to gather information about local wildlife, recording more than 850 separate species. We also welcomed visitors on the day, and helped them learn more about the local environment by exploring the nature reserve.”

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 crowd-funded, 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.

To find out more about the nature reserve, visit www.kingsdykenaturereserve.com.To follow Chris on Twitter, visit: https://twitter.com/ChrisGPackham?lang=en

For more information about Forterra, visit www.forterra.co.uk. You can also follow the company on Facebook and Twitter via @ForterraUK and also on LinkedIn.

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS

For further information about Forterra please contact Alex Scoppie or Hannah Elwell, Unsworth Sugden, on 0116 247 1777 or alexs@unsworthsugden.co.uk or hannah@unsworthsugden.co.uk

Forterra is a leading manufacturer of a diverse range of concrete and clay building products. The company employs approximately 1,800 people in the UK, across 18 manufacturing facilities.

Contact Tina M Lindsay tina@tinamlindsay.co.uk to arrange interviews with Chris Packham.

Link to copyright free film with Chris Packham: https://youtu.be/efjqZ8FtiRs

About Chris Packham:

• TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham is a wildlife specialist, photographer and author with a passionate concern for conservation and the environment. After studying for a degree in zoology at Southampton University, Chris trained as a wildlife film cameraman but soon moved into TV presenting, beginning with the Really Wild Show in 1986.  TV credits include 'Wildshots', 'Wild Watch', 'Go Wild', basically lots of things with 'wild' in the title. 'X-Creatures', 'Postcards from the Wild', 'Hands on Nature', 'Nature's Calendar' and more recently the BBC's 'Springwatch', 'Autumnwatch' and 'Winterwatch' shows.

About Chris Packham's UK Bioblitz Campaign 2018:

• A bioblitz is an intensive field study over a set period of time to record all the living species within a designated area. Participants include groups of scientists, naturalists and volunteers.
• Data collection: Data collected from the UK Bioblitz Campaign will contribute to biological recording in the UK, so is essential for research purposes. It will be made available for each site to further their development, funding applications and wider discovery of the habitats and species they're conserving. Many taking part will never have had such in-depth surveying on their site making this aspect of the campaign doubly important.
• Why Nature Reserves are not enough: Chris Packham's UK Bioblitz Campaign will champion front-line conservation in action, the people who make a huge difference to the species and habitats they support. As well as recognised conservation sites, Chris Packham will be highlighting that "nature reserves are not enough" by featuring for example; community projects, volunteer initiatives, developments and local council action plans. The campaign will be documenting their stories to demonstrate how we can all make a space for nature and give wildlife a significant boost.
• Fund raising: Sponsorship for Chris Packham's species count during the UK Bioblitz Campaign can be made via Just Giving at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/chris-packham-bioblitz
• All the money raised will be distributed back to the front-line conservationists, projects, initiatives and voluntary groups via invited wish-lists, thus directly supporting those whom need it most. The campaign will also be donating to Autism and Asperger's research, enabling people to realise their worth.
• Carbon neutral tour: Miles covered using our Campaign vehicles will be calculated and carbon offset.