Shared Earth is a series from the 91Èȱ¬ Natural History Unit which celebrates the natural world and explores what we can all do to help conserve wildlife and habitats and reduce our footprint on the planet
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This stunning orange, black and white butterfly has been restricted to the Isle of Wight for the last 150 years. It is found on the sandy cliffs on the south west of the island, an area which experiences erosion as part of the natural processes. For 11 months of the year the eggs, caterpillars and pupae are found on a common plant, the Ribwort Plantain in small areas on the side of the eroding cliffs, where warmer little micro-climates exist which help it to survive poor summers. Climate change and increased sea level rise will mean the erosion of the cliffs will increase dramatically over the next 50 years. The Glanville Fritillary is having to move further back onto the chalkland downs of the island.
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Farmland Birds
The RSPB's concerns for farmland birds since the loss of set-aside:
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Wyeswood Common
Gwent Wildlife Trust has purchased 104 acres of an intensively managed farm which they hope, with short term intervention, to allow it in the long term to revert to a natural mosaic of habitats through naturalistic processes. The land will help provide connected corridors for wildlife on their existing reserves and throughout Monmouthshire.
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