Frozen Ark awarded HLF grant

12th November 2-18

We are pleased to announce that we have received a confirmed National Lottery grant of a total of £60,000, significantly contributing to the development of a UK National Archive for DNA and tissues of UK’s endangered and threatened species. Thanks to this award raised by National Lottery players, we will be able to coordinate and enhance biobanking for endangered species preserved in museums, zoos, research institutes and universities across the UK. With expanding deforestation and industrialisation, the UK is now among the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Today, more than 100 animal species in the UK are threatened.

According to the State of Nature 2016 report, the population sizes of the UK’s most endangered species have plummeted by two thirds since 1970 and this is an ever-increasing trend. British native species, such as red squirrels and hedgehogs, which have suffered huge recent population drops will be of special interest. By creating a national archive, the scientific research community will have access to biological material from species that are declining in order to understand the consequences of this catastrophic trend. The Frozen Ark aims to ensure that genetic material is made available and used for much-needed conservation and research activity on the UK, and the world’s, endangered species.

Read the full news piece by the University of Nottingham Press Office.