DRAGONS' Den star Deborah Meaden has teamed up with World Environment Day and South Western Railways to give her backing to the Save Our Wild Isles campaign.
The business guru, who lives near Taunton and owns Fox Brothers in Wellington, will be heard in SWR station announcements throughout June as p-art of the initiative.
The campaign, launched by the RSPB, WWF and the National Trust this year, calls for an immediate halt to the destruction of UK nature and urgent action for nature recovery, while urging companies to commit to plans to become 'nature positive'.
To be nature positive means halting and reversing nature decline by restoring wildlife and having an overall positive impact on nature.
SWR, which operates in South Somerset and between Devon and South West London, is also the first train operator in the UK to sign the Nature Positive Business Pledge.
During the last year, it has converted the equivalent of three football pitches into biodiversity gardens with the RSPB, planted 15 wildflower meadows and introduced over 40 homes for insects and birds.
As part of the pledge, SWR will map the biodiverse habitats of its network, baseline its total impact on nature and create a Nature Positive Framework and Action Plan to deliver a positive contribution to the regeneration and restoration of nature.
Ms Meaden's station announcements will encourage passengers to play their part in creating habitats for nature and increasing biodiversity.
She said: "Supporting the Save Our Wild Isles campaign is so important, which is why I am pleased to see that South Western Railway is leading the way for rail in supporting nature and responding to the biodiversity crisis by pledging to become Biodiversity Net Positive by 2030 and also the first rail operator in the UK to sign the Nature Positive Business Pledge.”
The clips originally featured in a series of short films created for businesses as part of the Save Our Wild Isles campaign.
To view the films and find out how everyone can play a part in tackling the nature and climate crisis, visit www.saveourwildisles.org.uk
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