Children and young people are calling on local council election candidates to promise action to tackle wildlife extinction in Wales.

They are joining a Wildlife Trust Wales campaign to help the 17% of species at risk of extinction by writing to the candidates.

Iefan, aged 11 and from Powys, said: "I just love nature and I really want to help with climate change."

Elections are taking place for all 22 local councils across Wales on 5 May.

Silvia Cojocaru of the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust said it was "important to keep our wildlife where it is and not to lose it completely".

"This campaign is asking everyone, no matter the age, to write to the local candidates and ask them... what they're going to do for nature in the future.

Iefan loves nature and wants to help deal with climate change. These elections are the first local government polls to give 16 and 17-year-olds the vote. But younger children, like 11-year-old Rosa, are also getting involved in the campaign, and she wants the winning candidates to help amphibians.

"We've asked them what kinds of things they'll be doing to help nature in our town," she said.

"I've been asking them things like maybe closing the roads while the toads are going from the lake to the woods, because sometimes toads and newts and frogs get squashed by the cars."

Local councils take a variety of decisions that have an impact on wildlife, from planning decisions, to flood protection, to pesticide use in local parks.

Isaac says if nature is destroyed "it will feel like part of your body or heart is gone"

Phoebe, who's 24 and from Llandrindod Wells, runs a youth group for the Wildlife Trust. She said small things can make a big difference, "like not mowing the road verges". "At the moment, we've got a lot of verges that are in bloom and there's cuckoo flower everywhere."

'Adults actually listen to the kids'

Orange tip butterflies depend on the cuckoo flower, she said, "and now there are loads of orange tip butterflies about. So they're here because of that action, so that local action really makes a difference." 

Although the 11-year-old campaigners are a few years away from getting the vote, the campaign organisers say it is never too early for children to learn about the democratic process.

Silvia of the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust observes that the young campaigners can have an influence on older family members. "Adults actually listen to the kids, and they want to make sure that their future is brighter," she said.

The future is Isaac's big concern. He is also 11 and says he got involved in the campaign because "I've always loved nature since I was young".

"It's amazing. It's helped me a lot. So it's like my life, and if people destroy it it will feel like part of your body or heart is gone and like you can't live without nature."

Article source - BBC UK by By Felicity Evans, Political editor, Wales