The Great British Wildlife Restoration!

Belfast Zoo & the Northern Ireland Squirrel Forum collaborate to preserve this iconic native species, which is facing increased threat in Northern Ireland. Belfast Zoo’s ‘red squirrel nook’ is a specifically designed habitat, funded by zoo visitors in 2010 and since then, approximately 40 red squirrel kits have been carefully released at 7 sites prepared sites across Northern Ireland.

The Wild Oysters Project is an led by ZSL, Blue Marine Foundation, and British Marine, and aims to restore self-sustaining oyster reefs. So far, they’ve installed 141 oyster nurseries, engaged 73,000+ members of the public, and are restoring 7,500 square metre (the size of a football pitch) reefs.

This project creates new habitat sites along the Essex coast, and in 2008, Colchester Zoo initiated a breeding programme to provide batches of eggs for release onto new habitat sites annually. Since the releases, signs of caterpillars feeding and visual sightings of adult moths have been seen at the new sites. In 2021, all but one had signs of the caterpillars feeding.

Saving Wildcats is a partnership dedicated to wildcat recovery in Scotland, to prevent their extinction by breeding and releasing them into the wild, a first in the UK. In June, the project conducted its first release of wildcats bred at RZSS zoos, and Saving Wildcats aims to release around 20 wildcats yearly into Cairngorms National Park

The Pollinator Project aims to conserve native butterflies, moths and bees with plant beds designed for each target species. But it also so much more. By including research and education for students and guests, skills are gained to benefit them in their future conservation-based vocations.

The first of its kind in the UK, the ambitious Wilder Blean project has restored a herd of bison to Kent woodland. Bison have not freely roamed Britain for thousands of years and the European bison is a species that has been saved from extinction by zoos.

The Chester Zoo Nature Recovery Corridor project has successfully brought a 15 square mile area across Chester back to life, connecting people and wildlife whilst restoring a network of wildlife-rich habitats. The Zoo has worked closely with an array of community groups, schools, mental health charities, religious groups, refugee groups, and allotment keepers.

Opened in 2012, Shepreth Wildlife Park’s Hedgehog Hospital has brought in over 5,500 hedgehog patients to date. The hospital is the only facility of its size available for the treatment and rehabilitation of hedgehogs in the area.

Twycross Zoo is one of the few zoos in the UK with a free nature reserve. The 20,000m² reserve is surrounded by arable land and is therefore a highly valuable habitat and water source for local species. The team are working to conduct species surveys, attend conservation workshops, create and maintain specific habitats within the nature reserve, and build items to encourage wildlife such as ‘bug hotels.’

Otherworldly glow-worms have declined in the British countryside due to habitat loss, climate change and light pollution. This novel project has successfully established a population of glow-worms in human care. 1,100 larvae have been released over the summers of 2021 & 2022 at a trial release site in Hampshire, w

Sand lizards, the UK’s rarest lizard, have disappeared from much of England and Wales, having suffered substantial declines due to habitat loss. 30 years ago, a breeding programme was established by Marwell Wildlife at that has since bred over 2000 lizards for reintroduction to 28 heathland and coastal dune sites across southern England

Becky Falls Ancient Woodland Park, nestled in the heart of a temperate rainforest, serves as a haven for a diverse array of plant and animal species. T

UK waters are home to two species of elusive seahorses, but human activities are damaging their seagrass habitats. Sea Life and the Sea Life Trust are supporting the Seahorse Trust to better protect seahorses in Dorset.

London is an undoubtedly a challenging environment for many beneficial insects, including bees. Battersea Park Children's Zoo has opened an educational apiary in partnership with the London Beekeepers Association to promote native pollinators and educate the public on inner-city beekeeping sustainability.

Project Godwit is a collaboration between RSPB and WWT, beginning in 2016, to improve the conservation status of the UK’s black-tailed godwit. Without the project, the UK breeding population would be 40% smaller than it is today.

Hazel dormice populations have decreased in the UK by 55% over the last 25 years and are now extinct in 17 counties. ZSL provides critical quarantine, health checks and monitoring for the reintroduction of Hazel Dormice back to the UK countryside.

This project manages over 1,277 species-specific nest boxes for four bird of prey species (barn owl, kestrel, little owl and tawny owl). These birds have faced increasing pressure across Britain as nesting sites decline. Since 2010 nest boxes have been erected across eight counties, and chicks are monitored to assess their survival.

Seagrass is in decline and two BIAZA collections - Wild Planet Trust’s Paignton Zoo and the Ocean Conservation Trust’s National Marine Aquarium - are collaborating in their Blue Meadows project. Seagrass meadows are one of the most biodiverse and vital marine habitats. The project is growing seagrass at a special facility for physical planting.

Reclaiming Reds aims to restore red squirrels in Knowsley, which is ideally located as a red squirrel stronghold by creating a natural corridor to allow them to reclaim their former habitat. Reclaiming reds has also engaged with 5,592 people in the local community via talks, lessons and workshops.

The Native Haven Project is an exciting plan at Banham Zoo to utterly transform under-used parts of the estate into a thriving haven for native species, engaging zoo visitors with the wild isles’ at their doorstep. Native Haven will reinvent the zoo’s spaces with a new trail that will take visitors on an interconnected journey around the British Isles, where they will be educated and inspired.

My Tree, Our Forest is a perfect example of communities, Government and conservation organisations coming together for one worthwhile cause; to plant more trees. Folly Farm worked in collaboration with the Welsh Government & Coed Cymru (Woodland Trust Wales) to help distribute a tree to every household in Wales, free of charge.

Spotted on Site is a nationwide campaign where BIAZA zoos and aquariums have come together to support native wildlife via the species recording website iNaturalist. Running since mid-2022, the staff, volunteers and visitors of 53 BIAZA zoos/aquariums have made over 50,000 observations of 3,600 different species.