The funding, made possible by National Lottery players, was awarded through the Heritage Emergency Fund. £50 million was made available to provide emergency funding for those organisations most in need across the heritage sector. The UK-wide fund aimed to address immediate emergency actions and help organisations to start thinking about recovery.

Since the pandemic began, we have had to adapt our way of working in order to protect staff, volunteers, and visitors. We have also seen additional pressure on our nature reserves, including a sharp increase in litter, damage, and antisocial behaviour. These factors have made it more difficult for us to protect local wildlife and habitats.

The emergency grant will be invaluable to helping us to cope with these circumstances. It will be used to fund distance working equipment, repairs to nature reserves, site adaptations for visitor safety, and staff time for those unable to benefit from the furlough scheme due to the essential nature of their roles.

Debbie Tann, our Chief Executive, said: “We are hugely grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for their support during this difficult time. This funding will enable us to continue protecting our natural heritage and working towards a wilder future for everyone.”

Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Heritage has an essential role to play in making communities better places to live, supporting economic regeneration and benefiting our personal wellbeing. All of these things are going to be even more important as we emerge from this current crisis.

“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we are pleased to be able to lend our support to organisations such as Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust during this uncertain time.”

Thanks to National Lottery players, £30 million is raised every week for good causes, including heritage of local and national importance. By playing the National Lottery, people up and down the country are making an amazing contribution to the nationwide-response to combatting the impact of COVID-19 on local communities across the UK.