Brownsea Island lagoons set for restoration

Brownsea Island lagoon is set for a revamp as part of a major habitat restoration scheme in Dorset.

Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) said its Making Space for Nature project aimed to "improve and protect" wildlife at a range of sites, including the creation of a new nature reserve at Lyscombe and meadow habitat at Kingcombe NNR.

It is one of 20 conservation projects across the UK that will receive a share of £25 million from the government's Species Survival Fund.

Brownsea Island lagoon is one of 18 sites across Dorset being revitalised (Dorset Wildlife Trust).

Brownsea Island boost

Habitat in and around the lagoon on Brownsea Island will be restored as part of the project. The lagoon is a site of major importance in Poole Harbour, being a key refuge for waders, gulls and terns.

Andrew Pollard, from DWT, said: "It will help form new nature recovery networks through the county. Our vision for this project is to create thriving biodiversity hubs which will increase the abundance of wildlife species.

"Nearly 400 ha of this land has little or no wildlife interest currently and so when it is restored, it will help form new nature recovery networks through the county."

Good news for Dorset's wildlife

Pollard added that the cash would help to "protect the 3,000 species of wildlife in Dorset which have been identified as threatened, rare or protected".

Four new full-time jobs will be created as part of the project, as well as two traineeship opportunities, DWT said.

The news comes soon after DWT announced that it had acquired 335 ha of chalk downland and farmland north-east of Dorchester.