A new conservation programme has been unveiled by the RSPB in a bid to restore wildlife species to areas of countryside outside "traditional" nature reserves.

Working in partnership with a number of other organisations, the Futurescapes initiative will see the RSPB work towards creating landscapes where plant and animal species are able to flourish. The RSPB is already working with partner organisations along a stretch of the River Thames between Tower Bridge and the North Sea, covering 1,000sq km (386sq miles) of land.

More than £50m has been spent on regenerating land to increase public access along the river, while working in conjunction with the Port of London Authority and waste management firm Veolia ES to promote conservation efforts. RSPB Futurescapes manager Aiden Lonergan said: "Nature reserves are vitally important - they are a refuge from where plants and animals can spread into the wider countryside.

"But that countryside is increasingly unfriendly to wildlife because of decades of habitat loss, which has robbed many species of food and shelter. Now climate change threatens to add even further pressure."