British juniper preservation gets funding boost

The efforts of the gin industry to preserve threatened amounts of wild British juniper have pressed ahead this week, awarding funds to three regions.

Threatened juniper bushes in Sussex have been thrown a lifeline grant by No.3 London Dry Gin

Charities working to preserve the bush in each region were awarded £1,000 by the gin producer to help save remaining juniper plants Gloucestershire, West Sussex and Wiltshire.

No.3 London Dry Gin, owned by Berry Bros. & Rudd Spirits, pledged to help conserve British juniper by offering three grants for landowners and charities to put towards improving the natural habitats of juniper.

The company paired up with charity Plantlife to promoted the funding and also to enable accurate mapping and tracking of juniper throughout the UK.

Recipient charities of this fund include Painswick Beacon in Gloucestershire, Calstone and Cherhill Downs in North Wiltshire, and Steyning Coombe in West Sussex. All will use the grant to put fences around the few remaining juniper plants in their regions.

Wild British juniper bushes are currently being threatened by both grazing rabbits and a fungus-like disease, called Phytophthora austrocedrae, which experts have warned could effectively wipe out the country’s delicate juniper population.

As reported by The Spirits Business in February, many English counties have already lost up to 70% of their juniper through eradication of their natural habitats

“Juniper has been steadily declining over the last few decades and without action now, it actually faces extinction across much of lowland England within 50 years,” said species recovery coordinator at Plantlife Tim Wilkins.

Most gin producers in the UK source their juniper – the spirit’s main botanical – from Europe, although a handful are still using juniper from within the UK.

However, No.3 London Dry Gin is keen to promote its use in the British gin industry.

Mike Mackenzie, brand manager at the company, said: “Juniper is very much at the heart of No.3, so it’s appropriate that we support Plantlife’s activities in these ways.

“Their work in this area of conservation is second to none and we’re hopeful of healthy days ahead for West Sussex’s juniper.”