Five landmark nature recovery projects launched.
On the 26th May 2022 The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced that five landmark nature recovery projects launched to protect wildlife and improve public access to nature.
Over 99,000 hectares of England to be dedicated to supporting wildlife and nature for people to enjoy
Five unique nature recovery projects spanning nearly 100,000 hectares will transform the public’s enjoyment of nature in the West Midlands, Cambridgeshire, the Peak District, Norfolk and Somerset.
These multi-partnership projects will see newly created and restored areas will help wildlife populations to move and thrive across town and countryside.
They will improve the landscape’s resilience to climate change, reduce carbon and manage flood risk. Equivalent in size to all 219 current National Nature Reserves they will also allow everyone to enjoy and connect with nature on their doorstep.
The Purple Horizons project in Walsall in the West Midlands alone will enable over 500,000 people to reconnect with nature close to where they live, in one of England’s most socially deprived areas.
All five projects will also make a significant contribution towards the international commitment to protect at least 30% of land and sea by 2030, and will help to achieve the Environment Act’s target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030.
The nature recovery project areas are:
Purple Horizons, West Midlands
This extending across 10,000 hectares on the edges of the West Midlands urban areas, Purple Horizons is restoring and connecting fragmented nationally and internationally important heathlands to create a mosaic of heathland, wetland, woodland and-grassland, vital for the recovery and long-term resilience of the area’s reptiles, birds and insects.
Cambridge Nature Network, Cambridgeshire
Covering 9,200 in and around the City of Cambridge, linking the inner city to rural countryside across a range of priority habitats and landscapes including chalk grassland, fenlands and ancient woodlands.
Wye Valley, Peak District
Covering 10,000 hectares, this project is conducting investigations on how an investment model can be created to generate funding for habitat restoration and creation, providing multiple nature recovery benefits.
Somerset Wetlands, Somerset
With the new 6,140-hectare super National Nature Reserve at its heart, Somerset Wetlands is working with local partners and landowners across 60,000 hectares to enhance nature recovery through habitat creation and investing in strategic solutions that make the wetlands more sustainable and the landscape more resilient to climate change.
Wendling Beck, Norfolk
The Wendling Partnership has come together to embark on an ambitious and inspiring nature restoration project linking initiatives around the Upper River Wensum and 10,000 hectares in the surrounding farmed countryside of mid-Norfolk.
An initial £2.4m in funding is being provided by Defra and Natural England, part of funding for the flagship Nature Recovery Network (NRN) which aims to increase, improve and connect existing wildlife-rich sites and restore and connect degraded land, turning it into healthy functioning ecosystems, rich in wildlife and resilient to climate change, which will provide clean air, water and healthy soil.
The Nature Recovery Projects being announced will also include improved footpaths, bridleways and green infrastructure which will connect nature to where people live, work and play, benefiting physical health and mental wellbeing.
