Wildwood Trust: A pine marten comeback is all this charity wants for Christmas…

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A pine marten comeback is all this charity wants for Christmas…

* PRESS RELEASE *

Centuries of persecution and the gradual disappearance of habitat, has led the beautiful European pine marten to the brink of extinction in Britain.
As woodlands disappear, leaving only 2.4% ancient woodland in the UK[1], the pine marten is under huge pressure.

Organisations that help conserve, breed and reintroduce pine martens back into the wild, are essential if this species is to be restored.
But these are sensitive animals, being notoriously hard to breed in captivity and they need special care and careful observation in order to mate and thrive.

Experts of pine marten ecology and breeding behavior, the wildlife charity 'Wildwood Trust' have partnered up with the UK's biggest match funding campaign, The Big Give's Christmas Challenge 2019, in the hopes of getting much needed funding for building bigger and better pine martens facilities, to ensure a genetically healthy population for future reintroductions.

[1] https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/habitats/ancient-woodland/

See video and photos of pine marten here

Wildwood's director general Paul Whitfield said:

''We have had great success in the past, among other things making tunnels in the enclosures, to mimic the territories that the pine martens would have naturally in the wild. But after years of work, the breeding enclosures have become severely degraded and are in need of a complete rebuild in order to continue this vital work''

The pine martens' recovery in the UK could help to restore the country's natural balance, as with all native species, the pine marten play an important role in the ecosystem.
They disperse seeds, lower the risk of diseases by removing carrion, and studies have shown that they could also provide a natural way of reducing grey squirrel numbers, helping red squirrels to re-establish their populations.

The Christmas Challenge launches at midday on 3rd December (Giving Tuesday) and runs for just seven days, until 10th December 2019. Throughout the week, participating charities will see supporters' donations matched (up to £50,000 per organisation), doubling the impact of their gifts.

Supporters of Wildwood's work with pine martens can donate here:

DONATE

The Big Give's Christmas Challenge

The Christmas Challenge was launched in 2008 by Sir Alec Reed CBE and is now the UK's biggest online match funding campaign. It offers supporters and charities the opportunity to have their donations doubled on theBigGive.org.uk when the campaign goes live at noon on #GivingTuesday, 3rd December 2019. Last year, the Christmas Challenge raised £13 million, a £3.5 million increase from funds raised in 2017.

The Big Give is a registered charity (1136547) with a mission to promote causes and inspire people to give through a crowdfunding platform for charities, specialising in match funding. Since it was founded in 2007, The Big Give has helped to raise over £113 million for UK-registered charities.

Contact:

Peter Smith: M: peter@wildwoodtrust.org T: 01227 209618 or 07986 828229

Julie Luna Bayer: M: julie@wildwoodtrust.org T: 07453 497086 or 01227 712111

Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewildwoodtrust

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/thewildwoodtrust

ABOUT WILDWOOD

Wildwood Trust opened in 1999 as a centre of excellence for the conservation of British wildlife, and was established as a registered charity in 2002.
Wildwood is Kent's best British wildlife park. Home to over 200 native animals, past and present and set in 40 acres of beautiful ancient woodland where visitors can see bears, wolves, bison, deer, owls, foxes, red squirrels, wild boar, lynx, wild horses, badgers and beavers plus many more.
As one of the leading British animal conservation charities in the UK, Wildwood Trust is dedicated to saving Britain's most threatened wildlife.
Wildwood Trust have taken part in many ground-breaking conservation programmes to date, which include, saving the water vole, using wild horses to help restore Kent's most precious nature reserves, bringing the extinct European beaver back to Britain and returning the hazel dormouse & red squirrel to areas where they have been made extinct.