April sees the launch of 2020Vision, Britain’s most ambitious photography-based conservation initiative ever! 20 of the country’s top wildlife and nature photographers have, for the first time, come together with leading conservation partners to document the value of restoring Britain’s battered ecosystems. Over the course of 20 months, the 2020 Phototeam will carry out 20 flagship assignments, which demonstrate the link between healthy ecosystems and healthy people.

Peter Cairns, 2020Vision’s coordinator and one of its photographers said: “Ecosystem thinking is something that is now prevalent in the scientific community, but the value of a wilder Britain, where ecosystems function as they should, has not yet been imaginatively communicated to a mainstream audience. This project bridges that gap using the motivational language of great photography, a language in which everyone can find relevance. Our aim is to take ecosystem thinking to a new level and a new audience. It’s about making nature cool.”

The Phototeam, which includes top shooters Chris Packham, Joe Cornish and Andy Rouse, will be joined by videographers and sound recordists, and will visit key locations throughout Britain, from the ancient Scottish pine forests to the suburban garden pond. The assignments focus on habitats that are being restored or re-connected, not only for the benefit of the wildlife species that live there, but for people too. The thousands of images generated from these assignments will then be woven into compelling narratives and presented in innovative ways that will reach far beyond ‘the conservation converted’.

Chris Gomersall, one of the project’s management team, said: “2020Vision will answer the question often asked about nature: What’s in it for me? Our photographers are not only amongst the most talented and creative in the country, they are committed to working together to show that a healthy natural world is something we all depend upon – we just don’t always realise it!”

2020Vision is backed by IUCN-UK and will be launched officially at a landmark conference in Edinburgh on April 19, attended by many of Europe’s top conservationists and policy makers.

Further details can be found on the 2020Vision website.