Sarah Knapton, science
editor
27 JANUARY 2018 • 5:05PM
A conservation project to turn 50
quarries into nature reserves by 2020 has been completed two years early and is
already saving endangered species, like the turtle dove.
In 2010, the RSPB joined forces with building
materials supplier CEMEX to
rejuvenate dozens of disused quarries.
And within fewer than eight
years, 1,000 hectares of grassland, woodland, heath and wetland has been
created which is helping rare and unusual species to flourish including 50 ‘at
risk’ species.
Threatened birds which have moved
into the conservation areas include turtle doves, choughs and twites, all of
which have seen huge falls in numbers in the past decades.
Martin Harper, the RSPB’s
director of conservation said: “Nature is in trouble but by restoring or
creating habitats we can often reverse the population declines of threatened
species while keeping common species common. We all have a role to play in
rising to this challenge: government, business and civil society.
“In 2010 the RSPB and CEMEX set
an ambitious goal of restoring 1,000 hectares of land over a decade and in less
than eight years we have met that target.
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