Lego Wetland Model for Promotion of Wetlands Conservation

A Lego-mad couple are using their love of the plastic bricks to raise funds for a wildlife project.

A number of Lego creatures including this dragonfly have already been created for the map

Mike Addis and Catherine Weightman will use 500,000 bricks to create a 10m (32ft) 3D "map" of Cambridgeshire wetland the Great Fen, complete with Lego "native species".

The land is part of a long-term Wildlife Trust conservation project.

More than 100 people have paid to help build Lego creatures to go on the map.

The Great Fen is a 50-year project to create a huge wetland between Peterborough and Huntingdon.

Managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, it is one of the largest restoration projects of its type in Europe.

Working with organisations including Natural England and the Environment Agency, they aim to transform the land and conserve its wildlife.

Eventually the Great Fen should cover 3,700 hectares (9,140 acres). About 55% of that land has been acquired so far.

A map showing the eventual extent of the Great fen - land in green has already been acquired

The idea for a fundraising and awareness-raising giant Lego model came about as Ms Weightman works for Natural England and colleagues were aware of her love of Lego creations.

The 10m (32ft) x 5m (16.5ft) map base will be created on about 14 tables in the visitor centre at Hinchingbrooke Country Park.

The creatures, like this Lego longhorn beetle and froghopper, are about 10cm in length

Read more at: BBC

Media

Taxonomy

• Watershed
• Wetlands
• Watershed Management
• Resource Conservation
• Fundraising
• Wetlands
• Wildlife