Cheshire Wildlife Trust faces huge challenges and increased pressure during coronavirus.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust, one of 46 Wildlife Trust charities across the UK, are, like others, dealing with unprecedented challenges caused by coronavirus. Restoring nature in the UK – one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world – has become harder than ever during the pandemic.

At the same time, people are seeking solace in nature to relieve the hardships caused by lockdown, adding increased pressure to the workload.

Vital conservation work has had to be put on hold – leading to an explosion of invasive non-native species, deterioration of rare wildflower meadows, stalled wildlife reintroductions and potential loss of species from some areas.

Charlotte Harris, CEO of Cheshire Wildlife Trust, said: "We all want and need to connect to nature now more than ever, and it's wonderful that people are finding solace at their local nature reserves, using our inspiration to help wildlife in their outdoor areas and educating their children about the natural world.

"Huge numbers of people are also enjoying our national webcams showing springtime nature all over the UK, barn owl chicks hatching and puffins emerging from burrows. But it is local nature – in walking distance or a short bike ride from home – which is particularly important for peoples' mental and physical health at this time.

"That's why it's Cheshire Wildlife Trust – who care for over 30 wildlife havens across Cheshire, Halton, South Manchester and Wirral – that are under increased pressure to deliver this public service, without any public funding.

"These are desperate times for the charity as income from events and fundraisers has crashed, yet the demands of caring for safe wildlife havens for the public are higher than ever. We're also heartbroken that so much valuable work restoring large areas of land has been put on hold and some species will lose out as our monitoring and reintroduction programmes stall.

"There are also critical pieces of legislation that we need in law to protect wildlife on land and at sea after the Brexit transition period comes to an end on 31st December. The Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries Bills, that we have been tirelessly lobbying the Government for, are all now delayed.

"There is now a very real risk that we may leave the EU next year with no laws protecting nature in the UK. The challenges faced by our natural world have never been greater and we need both government and public support."

Current issues that Cheshire Wildlife Trust are struggling to deal with include:

• Not being able to manage rare and important areas such as wildflower meadows and woodlands, leading to deterioration that will take time to repair. Getting back on top of invasive non-native species will now require a big effort once social distancing rules are relaxed.

• Supporting landowners and responding to planning applications is limited as sites cannot be accessed in person, leading to possible knock-on effects once lockdown is lifted.

• Species cannot be protected or monitored with special wildlife surveys.

• A delay is expected in vital legislation to the Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries Bills.

• All public events and education sessions have been cancelled, dramatically reducing income for the charity. It also prevents outreach into vulnerable communities and risk of an ever increasing disconnect between young people and the natural world.

Charlotte Harris explains: "The work of Cheshire Wildlife Trust is critical. We live in one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. On top of that, our region in particular has lost more wildflower meadows in the last 80 years than the UK average and we have less tree cover than any other part of the country. Meadow restoration and tree planting are just two of the activities we've had to severely scale back during this time.

"We must all realise how important nature is for cleaning air in our cities, preventing flooding in our towns and storing carbon. As well as food on our plates, it feeds our souls and nourishes us in good times and in bad. Caring for nature benefits us all in many ways.

"Cheshire Wildlife Trusts can be a vital part of our nation's recovery from the current health crisis. Nature brings health benefits and offers solutions to the other great emergency facing humanity – climate change – so it must be protected and allowed to recover. Now more than ever we need people's support."

Over 60% of the population live within a 3 mile walk of a Wildlife Trust nature reserve.

For inspiration and nature ideas during lockdown and wildlife webcams please follow Cheshire Wildlife Trust's social media accounts.