How To Apply
Two young women looking at a framed photograph during the Hanging Out project. Photo Damian Walker

 2010 International Year of Biodiversity and Heritage 

2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity, and people all over the world are being encouraged to safeguard our global natural heritage and reduce the rate of biodiversity loss.

At the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), we support the 2010 initiative, and we want more organisations to apply to us for funding for projects that conserve the UK’s precious natural heritage.

Whether you want to conserve priority species or habitats, train volunteers in biological-identification techniques, or help a wider range of people understand the natural world, we want to hear from you. We have just released our Thinking about biodiversity guidance document, which sets out what we can fund and lists sources of advice to give you ideas and help you plan your project.

HLF has invested more than £860million in projects that safeguard the UK’s precious countryside, wildlife and parks, helping to protect some of our most threatened wildlife.

We are already funding a broad range of projects: from saving the red barbed ant from imminent extinction on the UK mainland, to restoring lost fenland habitat in Cambridgeshire. But there is still much to do.

Bird 

2010 Biodiversity and Heritage 

Fact and Figures

 The Tomorrow’s Heathland Heritage Initiative has contributed to achieving 80% (46,429 ha) of the UK BAP heathland-restoration target.

 HLF has given over £278 million to 2,270 biodiversity projects.

 More than 400 ha of wood-pasture and parkland has been created with the help of HLF grants, or 83% of the HAP target. 

 HLF has helped fund the restoration of 10,026 ha of native woodland.