Badger, Ratty, Mole and Toad strike out for a wilder future

Stars speak up for wildlife in new film trailer hitting cinemas in Sheffield and Rotherham this weekend

Sir David Attenborough, Stephen Fry, Catherine Tate, Alison Steadman and Asim Chaudhry have backed the new campaign from The Wildlife Trusts, including Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust, which calls for a wilder future and for nature’s recovery in the UK. The conservationist and actors have starring roles in a new The Wind in the Willows film trailer which brings to life the 21st century threats facing the much-loved characters from Kenneth Grahame’s children’s classic. The animated trailer calls on everyone to help bring our wildlife back before it’s too late, so that we can all enjoy a wilder future.

The film trailer shows how the lives of Badger, Ratty, Mole and Toad are disrupted by roads, river pollution and intensive agriculture – many habitats have been destroyed and others have been broken up. Toad hangs a picture of a puffin entangled in plastic on the wall in Toad Hall. “Farewell old friend” he says.

Kenneth Grahame wrote The Wind in the Willows just over a hundred years ago. Since then, many of the UK’s wild places and the plants and animals that depend on them have been lost. For example: 97% of lowland meadows and the beautiful wildflowers, insects, mammals and birds that they supported have disappeared; 80% of our beautiful purple heathlands have vanished – with their bilberries, sand lizards and the stunning nocturnal birds, nightjars. Rivers are in deep trouble too: only 20% are considered as healthy and 13% of freshwater and wetland species in Great Britain are threatened with extinction.

Kenneth Grahame’s Ratty – the water vole – is the UK’s most rapidly declining mammal and has been lost from 94% of places where it was once prevalent, and its range is continuing to contract. Toad is also finding that times are very tough: he has lost nearly 70% of his own kind in the last 30 years alone – and much more than that in the last century.

Mike Dilger, wildlife reporter on the BBC’s The One Show and Patron of Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust, said:

“As someone who has now been wildlife obsessed for the best part of 40 years and is determined to continue being a voice for nature, I must admit these are worrying times. The State of the Nature 2016 report makes clear that many of the species and habitats we all adore are patently struggling for space and protection in modern-day Britain.

“Irrespective of how you voted in the European referendum, surely we all agree that new, strong wildlife legislation is essential, which is why I’m backing The Wildlife Trusts’ push for an Environment Act to protect our natural heritage. Despite all the political uncertainty on the horizon, the only certainty is that everything is up for grabs, so I urge you to help the Trust in speaking up for the biodiversity of South Yorkshire and beyond… why? Because it’s worth it.”

Liz Ballard, CEO at Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust, said:

“We’re at a critical point in determining the future of our wildlife legislation. Nature needs much better protection, both here in Sheffield and Rotherham and across the country, and we have a chance to do something about this right now.

“In Sheffield and Rotherham, we are lucky to have such amazing green spaces on our doorstep, from stunning heathland at Blacka Moor to the ancient woodland of Greno Woods and the wetlands at Kilnhurst Ings. But there are many threats to these fragile habitats and the wildlife they support. The Trust is currently campaigning to better protect Our Moors and the birds of prey and other wildlife they should support. We are fighting for a better deal for wildlife if HS2 is driven through a number of ancient woodlands and Local Wildlife Sites in Rotherham and we continue to oppose the proposed motorway service station on the ancient woodland and Local Wildlife Site at Smithy Wood. We’re also fundraising for a badger vaccination programme, which we hope will prevent the need for a badger cull in South Yorkshire.

We are working hard to bring a wilder future to Sheffield & Rotherham – a place where nature can thrive – and we want to hear from anyone who is interested in working with us to create new habitats, support our local wildlife such as Badger, Toad and Ratty, and help build our nature recovery networks.

“But in order to ensure nature’s recovery, we need much better legislation in the form of a strong Environment Bill. We really hope that this film brings home to people in Sheffield and