Wildlife experts from the UK are to visit the Isle of Man for a debate later tonight.

The Wildlife Trust’s monthly panel debate, Wild LIVE, is visiting for a Manx Wildlife Trust 50th anniversary special.

The focus for the evening will be British temperate rainforest, which would have once covered vast expanses of our land, but over the centuries has been removed for timber and to make space for farming and development, so that now less than 1% remains.

A new partnership between the Wildlife Trust’s and insurance firm Aviva aims to turn this around, with promising implications for nature’s recovery.

The Wildlife Trust’s chief executive officer, Craig Bennett, and president, Liz Bonnin, will be joined by local experts, including Clare Barber MHK, to discuss this and other important issues relating to wildlife, the natural world, and the environment – as well as taking questions from the audience.

The evening will end with a wildlife themed pub quiz, hosted by Howard Caine from Manx Radio, at the Prospect pub on Prospect Hill in Douglas from 9pm.

Leigh Morris, chief executive officer of the Manx Wildlife Trust, said: ‘Being part of a federation of 47 wildlife trusts across the British Islands provides the Manx Wildlife Trust with an incredible platform of knowledge, expertise and joined up thinking to work with.

‘As an independent Manx charity, our wonderful staff and volunteers then target conservation work at a local level, focused on the priority issues of our Island Biosphere.

‘The Aviva partnership is an inspiring example of collaboration between the private and charitable sector working across all the wildlife trusts, and we’re excited to be part of the project to bring back important temperate rainforest habitat, working in partnership with the Isle of Man Woodland Trust.

‘We’d encourage anyone with an interest in Manx nature, temperate rainforests, wildlife, conservation, and sustainability to come along and find out more.’

The event will be held 7pm to 8.30pm on Thursday, April 27, at Manx Museum, Douglas. Tickets cost £5 and can be bought at www.mwt.im/events