It sees staff based at Slimbridge don grey crane suits and teach the birds to find food, swim, socialise and guard against predators.

BBC: Crane eggs arrive at Slimbridge Wetland Centre

The agency says the area, near the Slimbridge Wetland Centre, is of "international importance" for migrating wildfowl, breeding waders, migratory fish and Atlantic eels.

BBC: Work carried out to protect Severn Estuary salt marshes

Bird haven Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, which is also the headquarters of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, and the Dunes Coastal Park in the Outer Hebrides have also been short listed for the Best Environment Project award.

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According to his wife Lady Scott, when Peter returned from war, he was very keen to do something to protect threatened species and so it was that in 1946 he founded the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Slimbridge.

BBC: Gloucestershire - Life and legacy of Sir Peter Scott