THE RSPB has announced it is taking a lead role in a conservation project to expand wildlife habitats in the Fens.

The Futurescape project aims to restore vital habitats which have been lost over four centuries to drainage and farming. They aim to work with conservation organisations, landowners and farmers as part of the scheme.

Drainage in the Fens - covering around 1,158sq miles of land across Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk - began in the 1600s. Ninety-seven per cent of the area’s original wetland has been lost as a result.

The RSPB has said that without significant investment, these small pockets of land will diminish in size and quality. A range of wildlife can be seen across Fenland including the black-tailed godwit, one of the UK’s rarest breeding birds, and insects such as fen violets and broad-bodied chaser dragonflies.

The project aims to create new and inter-connected areas of wetland and habitat while helping farmers integrate wildlife with their business.

The RSPB has said it will help them access financial support from Government schemes to implement nature-friendly farm management.