Biodiversity in the UK brings so many benefits – stunning landscapes, iconic wildlife, and clean air and water, not to mention the carbon sequestration capabilities of healthy habitats that help us to limit climate change. But the UK’s biodiversity is under immense pressure. In fact, 50% of the UK’s biodiversity has been lost. Consequently, the UK ranks in the bottom 10% of all countries when it comes to biodiversity intactness. The main factors contributing to this shocking decline, according the the latest State of Nature report published by a group of 50 conservation organisations in 2019, are intensive agricultural management, climate change, hydrological changes by humans, urbanisation, invasive non-native species, pests and pathogens, pollution, and woodland management.

Wildflowers in the UK have fared particularly badly over the last few decades – 97% of wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s. This staggering statistic illustrates the immense pressure on native flower species and the animals that rely on them to survive.