Wetland Restoration: Britain

Environmental & Science Education, STEM, Wildlife, Nature, Sustainability, Biodiversity, Extinction

Ed Hessler

This video (6m 17s) and article are part of BBC Future's Bright Sparks: Sustainability series, "which sets out to find the young minds who are finding new and innovative way of tackling environmental problems. They are the next generation of engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs who are taking controls of their own future by seeking solutions to climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss and over-consumption." 

Two childhood friends, Harvey Tweats and Tom Whitehurst, both 17, established "a conservation centre in their parents' back gardens in Staffordshire in an attempt to restore wildlife that once thrived in nearby wetlands." One of the species is the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis), once common in the UK and now found elsewhere in Europe. The two have "one of the largest captive groups of European pond turtles  in the UK."

The turtles went extinct about 4000 ya, "but with climate change, it's going to get warm enough so these [turtles] could be brought back again to Britain," according to Tweats. In addition, the pair "nurture species that are often taken for granted, such as the common toad

Tom Whitehurst notes "these projects take a while ... but it's definitely something we have time for because we're still young."

Their website is Celtic Reptile & Amphibian.

The BBC's Sarah Griffiths did the reporting.