National Lottery Heritage Fund awards over £15m to habitat protection in Wales

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded over £15m ($19.91m) to 28 projects in Wales to protect different ecosystems. 

The projects will support the long-term recovery and protection of different nature sites, while encouraging communities to get involved with the various initiatives. 

One of the funded projects was pitched by the Bat Conservation Trust, which will use £249,630 to conserve the home of the brown long-eared bat, also known as the whispering bat.

The Trust will manage protected woodland areas, conduct roost surveys and animal data collection, as well as create activities to encourage local people to connect with wildlife.

Huw Irranca-Davies, Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Climate Change, said: "This significant investment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to our international targets, such as 30by30, which are increasing the scale and pace of delivery, helping to protect Wales’s natural heritage. 

“By supporting these projects, we're not only preserving precious ecosystems but also empowering communities to become stewards of their local environments. 

“The Nature Networks Fund is a crucial tool in our response to the nature emergency, helping us build a more resilient Wales for future generations."

The National Botanic Garden of Wales received an £823,320 grant that will be used to expand threatened flora collections housed in the National Seed Bank of Wales, which currently conserves just 11% of Welsh flora.

The rest of the funding will be used to improve the 150-hectare Waun Las National Nature Reserve.

Finally, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) will receive £548,406 to restore vital wetland habitats, particularly those around Llanelli and the Tir Morfa coastline.

This will make the area more welcoming to internationally important birds that migrate to the area annually, while also building a climate-resilient future for the wider Burry Inlet ecosystem.

Last month, reports revealed that Allwyn UK was slowing its contributions to good causes, although the operator argued this trend simply reflected lower sales last year.