BBC Springwatch presenter Chris Packham has inspired a protest outside a Reading office today to raise awareness about the state of the environment.
A large group of protesters gathered outside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (Defra) office in Valpy Street, Reading on Thursday, September 28.
The demonstration is part of a nationwide day of action led by the television star and wildlife campaign, which follows the publication of Defra’s State of Nature report, which stated that one in six UK species are at risk of extinction.
On Wednesday, the National Trust released its State of Nature report which found that one in six of the 10,000-plus species across the UK risk going extinct.
The report also found the number of species in the UK has fallen by 19 per cent on average since 1970.
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“We don’t have time to wait any longer. We need everyone to be involved in nature restoration as it won’t happen overnight,” Mr Packham told Sky News during the protest in Westminster.
On Thursday, demonstrators in Reading were seen holding signs with facts and figures, with one woman dressing in an otter costume to reference pollution in the waterways.
Helen Wright, one of the organisers of the Reading protest, said: “There have been so many government reports, we know what is happening, we just need to do something about it.
“One of the things the report was saying is there are lots of initiatives, but they’re all quite small, they’re not necessarily properly evaluated, we need to up things massively and really act like we mean it, and we need to do something to stop the drop in biodiversity.”
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A man in the protest was holding a sign highlighting the amount of land dedicated to livestock, with the argument that such land could be turned for biodiversity instead.
Ms Wright commented: “There should be less land used to raise livestock, so maybe more can be used for rewilding, for general use and nature.”
Mr Packham led a protest in London following the publication of the State of Nature report on Wednesday, September 27.
In a message to Defra staff, Mr Packham said: “Today’s peaceful lawful protest brings together almost 40 environmental NGOs, united for the first time as a broad coalition of voices representing many influential groups in the UK.
“We are here to show our deep concern about the state of nature in this country and our frustration with the lack of effective action.
“As you may know, the fourth State of Nature report has just been published.
“This confirms, with the most recent scientific evidence, that the historic decline in UK biodiversity continues, with little sign of significant recovery.
“While some progress is being made towards nature recovery, the report makes clear the current effort is too little and limited to achieve the UK’s nature recovery targets.
“Good science, including that delivered by Defra staff, is not being used to good effect. Our politicians instead follow the powerful polluting industries.
“To protect and restore our dwindling biodiversity, we need robust initiatives, implemented much faster, with much more investment at a much greater scale.
“We want you to be given the necessary direction, funding and power to act to protect our precious natural environment.”
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