Nature recovery zones inspired by Attenborough

A wildlife trust has been inspired by Sir David Attenborough's climate change mantra to designate 11 nature recovery zones in honour of the broadcaster's 100th birthday.

The zones encompass an area of 50,000 hectares - equivalent to 11 times the size of Gloucester - and among them are parts of the Forest of Dean, the Cotswolds and Stroud.

The trust hopes to raise £3m for Mission Wild, which will focus on restoring landscapes and reintroducing native species in the nature recovery zones, such as the Eurasian beaver.

Andrew McLaughlin, CEO of the trust, said: "Sir David's always been very clear about that need to act with urgency and scale because this is the kind of thing that nature needs."

"We're blessed with a county with amazing different habitats," McLaughlin said.

"We've got the Cotswolds, we've got the Severn Vale, we've got the Forest and even within those areas, there's lots of distinctive features - but what we need to do is start thinking about them together," he added.

The nature recovery zones include the Windrush Valley in the Cotswolds, the Central Forest in the Forest of Dean and the Stroud Commons.

McLaughlin hopes the designations will allow the trust to make its nature reserves "more resilient to the ravages of climate change" by restoring habitats and creating wildlife corridors beyond the boundaries of the reserves.

In Gloucestershire, McLaughlin said Sir David "set the standard" of what the wildlife trust should be doing when he opened its conservation centre at Robinswood Hill in 1992.

"Sir David has been a huge inspiration for so many people and has brought the world's attention to the plight of nature, urging us all to act," he said.

"Mission Wild is about accepting that challenge and setting out to achieve a wilder Gloucestershire, with benefits for people, communities and nature," McLaughlin added.

McLaughlin said the trust hoped to raise awareness of climate change and nature recovery in schools and communities to bring people "together" as part of Mission Wild.