TWO days of live music, outdoor theatre and hands on nature activities will take place at Chester Zoo this September as part of one of the UK’s newest festivals dedicated entirely to celebrating British wildlife.

The Wildlife Connections Festival, which will fuse family fun with raising awareness of conservation, will take place in the zoo’s new Nature Reserve on September 15 and 16. The event, at no extra cost to zoo-goers, aims to put a spotlight on UK species, such as hedgehogs, butterflies and wildlife, which are in dramatic decline.

Highlights of the festival will include an animal-inspired obstacle course, a people-powered merry-go-round and a special storytime with CBBC star, adventurer and zoologist Dr Jess French.

Jess will be sharing creative ways to protect the planet, based on her new book How to Help a Hedgehog and Protect a Polar Bear.

Pollie Shorthouse, general discovery and learning manager, said: “Much of the UK’s wildlife has suffered a huge decline in recent times. Hedgehog numbers in rural Britain have plummeted by 50 per cent since 2002, around 20 per cent of wildflowers are faced with extinction and only a quarter of butterfly species in the UK are unthreatened.

"Britain was once covered in woodland but habitat has altered dramatically too, and it now covers just 12 per cent of the land.

“This unique festival will serve to highlight this, show people exactly what they can do to improve the picture for many of the UK’s wonderful species and, at the same time, be a lot of fun for the whole family."

For more details visit chesterzoo.org/festival