England needs a massive “collective endeavour” to halt the country’s nature decline, its top conservation official says, after multimillion-pound investments in nature helped dormice, voles, willow tits and other species thrive.

Targeted conservation projects led by Natural England as part of its £13m species recovery programme’s capital grants scheme, have supported the recovery of 150 species, according to findings published on Wednesday.

As part of the work, conservationists relocated more than 15,000 individual animals and plants to expand species’ territories, and bred more than 12,000 individual invertebrates, mammals and birds in captivity for release into the wild.