Conservation

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07 Nov 2019

Why WWT Slimbridge is called the birthplace of modern conservation

On a bright December morning in 1945 two men watched a large flock of geese feeding on the banks of the river Severn in Gloucestershire. As they watched they noticed that the flock contained several different species of geese. ...

18 Oct 2019

How Sir Peter Scott saved the nene goose, using conservation techniques we still use today

How did Sir Peter Scott save the nene goose and what are the pioneering breeding techniques WWT uses today to continue his legacy, saving species across the planet? Our story starts back in the 1950s, on Hawaii...

20 Sep 2019

Cambodia: the kingdom of wetlands

Cambodia is one of the most wetland dependant countries in the world. More than 46% of its people live and work in wetlands and 80% of the population rely on them for food. Yet protecting wetlands in Cambodia is a complex and challenging issue. ...

05 Sep 2019

My water life: Protecting Madagascar's wetlands

Harison Andriambelo, WWT's Wetland Technical Advisor in Madagascar, writes about his love of wetlands and why it's so important that we recognise the importance and fragility of this habitat in Madagascar, as well as its forests. ...

03 Sep 2019

Alien Plant Meets a Mighty Foe at Llanelli Wetland Centre

In a first for Wales, a microscopic sap-sucking mite has been introduced in a bid to help control invasive Australian wetland plant Crassula that chokes up bodies of water and vastly out-competes our native plants...

19 Jul 2019

What is the IUCN Red List, and how is it used to track biodiversity loss?

The IUCN Red List is the most well-known assessment of species populations worldwide. It consists of nine threat categories. The latest assessment from the IUCN Red List in 2019 shows that more than 28,000 species are threatened with extinction. ...

08 Jul 2019

Freedom for fish in the Severn Vale after old waterways restored as part of 1.3m project

Struggling salmon, and a wide range of other fish species, will now have improved passage along the River Frome following the rewetting of an old channel at Bond’s Mill in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. ...

14 Jun 2019

Why the once common European eel is now Critically Endangered (and what can be done about it)

Author and marine biologist Helen Scales explores the plight of the European eel, once so numerous but now critically endangered. WWT conservationists have come up with a few solutions to give eels a helping hand...

07 May 2019

What is biodiversity, and why does it matter? | 6 insights from the IPBES report

In a comprehensive and shocking global report, the IPBES have published landmark findings that show biodiversity in wetlands and other habitats around the world is in freefall. We examine what the report tells us, and what can be done. ...

02 Apr 2019

Our Planet - a wildlife series with a difference?

Biodiversity loss has long been the poor cousin of climate change. Does the launch of Our Planet, a new flagship wildlife series by Netflix, succeed in highlighting the problem? ...

27 Sep 2018

Fish and chips: Eels microchipped to track species on the brink

Wild eels are being microchipped, similar to the way people microchip their pets, in an attempt by conservationists from WWT to better understand their activity. The study at Slimbridge in South Gloucester will allow scientists to monitor how eels are ...

30 Aug 2018

The Comeback Crane

A total of three young cranes have been raised at a nature reserve in Gloucestershire marking the most successful so year of an ambitious re-introduction project. The youngsters have been practicing flying at WWT Slimbridge where 93 cranes were hand-re...

27 Jan 2018

World Wetlands Day: A countdown from Colombo

The city of Colombo grew out of a group of fishing villages around a wetland. Today, these wetlands cover more than 15% of the total area of the Colombo Metropolitan Region. They protect the city from flooding and help mitigate climate change. ...

27 Jun 2016

Cranes pushed to the edge by floods on the Somerset Levels

A flock of cranes that ended up at the centre of a once-in-200-year flood has given researchers a rare insight into how wildlife copes with extreme weather. The cranes’ progress was being tracked by researchers from the University of Exeter, the Wildfo...

07 Jan 2016

Wetland birds’ lives revealed in WWT science journal

New aspects of the lives of wetland birds are revealed for the first time in the latest issue of Wildfowl, published by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT). The charity’s annual scientific journal is a way of sharing new research that could help conser...