• Over 99,000 hectares of England to be dedicated to supporting wildlife and nature for people to enjoy - equivalent in size to all of England’s 219 current National Nature Reserves 
• Projects will deliver nature recovery at a landscape scale helping to tackle biodiversity loss, climate change and improve public health and wellbeing 
• Millions of people set to benefit from increased opportunities to engage and connect with the natural world

 
Five unique nature recovery projects spanning nearly 100,000 hectares will transform the public’s enjoyment of nature in Somerset, the West Midlands, Cambridgeshire, the Peak District, and Norfolk, the government and Natural England announced today (Thursday 26 May). 
 
These multi-partnership projects will see newly created and restored wildlife-rich habitats, corridors and stepping-stones which will help wildlife populations to move and thrive across town and countryside.
 
They will improve the landscape’s resilience to climate change, providing natural solutions to reduce carbon and manage flood risk. Equivalent in size to all 219 current National Nature Reserves they will also allow more people to enjoy and connect with nature ‘on their doorstep’. 
 
The recently announced 6,140-hectare super National Nature Reserve sits at the heart of the Somerset Wetlands nature recovery project. The project seeks to build on the excellent work being done within the super NNR, but on a scale nearly ten times larger. It will do this by working with local partners and landowners to enhance nature recovery across 60,000 hectares through habitat creation and investing in strategic solutions that make the wetlands more sustainable and the landscape more resilient to climate change.

Rachel Williams, Wessex Area Manager, said: “I am excited to be a part of this new partnership which is driving nature recovery and working at a landscape scale to connect people to our inland wetlands and coast. Natural England and Defra support for this nature recovery project in Somerset recognises the huge value and potential of this landscape along with the challenges it faces.

“Working together we can recover nature across the Somerset Wetlands landscape and deliver more for people, nature, water and carbon.”
 
Georgia Stokes, Somerset Wildlife Trust CEO, said: "Partnership working has been central to nature returning to the Somerset Levels & Moors over the last 50 years. But the extreme and urgent nature of the climate and ecological crises, teamed with continuing intensive land management and peat extraction, means we need to do more and quickly to make this landscape, and Somerset, better prepared for climate change where nature is restored across the landscape with healthy soils and teeming with wildlife.

“The Somerset Wetlands Nature Recovery Project is a game-changing opportunity to bring landowners together to deliver bigger benefits for wildlife, local people and communities, and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions reductions by returning this landscape to a huge carbon store instead of carbon emitting as it is now.

“This is a significant moment for Somerset and we look forward to using our collective expertise to tackle the environmental challenges facing us all.”

All five projects will also make a significant contribution towards the national delivery of the international commitment to protect at least 30% of land and sea by 2030, and will help to achieve the Environment Act’s legally binding target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030.

The other nature recovery project areas are:

• Purple Horizons, Walsall - extending across 10,000 hectares on the fringes of the West Midlands conurbation, Purple Horizons is restoring and connecting fragmented nationally and internationally important heathlands to create a mosaic of heathland-wetland-woodland-grassland, vital for the recovery and long-term resilience of the area’s reptiles, birds and pollinators.
• 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, the project is conducting pioneering investigations on how an investment model can be created to generate funding for habitat restoration and creation, providing multiple nature recovery benefits. 
• 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 provide us with clean air, water and healthy soil.

The Nature Recovery Projects being announced today 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, and providing habitat creation that supports the roll out of biodiversity net gain, demonstrating how public and private finance can support nature recovery. 
 
The announcement today follows last week’s declaration of the new Somerset Wetlands ‘super’ National Nature Reserve (NNR) by Natural England which will  protect 6,140 hectares of precious saltmarsh, heath and wetland habitats that are home to nationally significant wildlife populations.

 ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS
 
The projects:
 
Somerset Wetlands, Somerset
Extending across 60,000 ha of the Somerset Levels and Moors, the project works with partners and landowners to enhance the process of nature recovery. The project is being led by a strong delivery partnership, which includes the following organisations: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Somerset Wildlife Trust, Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group South West (FWAG), Hawk and Owl Trust, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) and Environment Agency. In the first year 11 projects will be delivered, under the themes of habitat restoration, landowner engagement, strategic research & solutions and climate adaptation & carbon storage.  
  
The long-term ambition of the project is to restore ecological processes across the whole of the Somerset Levels and Moors landscape - from the peat moors near Taunton, Glastonbury and Muchelney to the sea at Bridgwater Bay. Managing the wetlands sustainably will support livelihoods and the local economy, including boosting green leisure and tourism, and help support farm businesses through the agricultural transition. It will also maintain the extensive peatlands of the Somerset Wetlands as a carbon store, helping to reduce pollution and improve resilience to floods and drought. The project also plans in the future to increase the nature connectedness of communities in the nearby urban centres, such as Bridgwater and Taunton, through increasing access opportunities, interpretation, and outreach to new audiences.   

Purple Horizons
Extending across 10,000 ha on the fringes of the West Midlands conurbation, Purple Horizons is restoring and connecting fragmented nationally and internationally important heathlands to create a mosaic of heathland-wetland-woodland-grassland, vital for the recovery and long-term resilience of the area’s reptiles, birds and pollinators.  It will help connect Sutton Park National Nature Reserve (NNR) and Cannock Chase Special Area of Conservation (SAC), together with Local Nature Reserves. The project will help enhance the internationally important geodiversity in the Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark and provide new interpretation for visitors.   
 
The project is working with local landowners to deliver habitat creation and carbon sequestration options for their land, supporting climate change adaptation and mitigation. The partnership is also developing a plan for connecting with communities in the deprived areas of Walsall (one of the top 10% most deprived local authorities in England), to understand their needs and where habitat creation and green infrastructure will deliver the greatest health benefits.  
  
Cambridge Nature Network
The aim of the Cambridge Nature Network is to develop a network of resilient wildlife rich accessible habitats in and around the City of Cambridge covering 9,200 ha. This is in response to the biodiversity crisis and a local commitment to ‘doubling nature’ in the area in the face of significant growth pressures in the city and surrounding area, which are likely to grow on the back of the OxCam corridor. The network focuses on making existing nature sites bigger, better, and more connected.  
  
Work being supported includes converting farmland into new chalk grassland and woodland establishment at Wandlebury Country Park and Lower Valley Farm in the Gog Magog Hills; creating a new meadow near Barton; and establishing new woodland near Coton on the western edge of Cambridge and in the city itself, restoring ancient trees, tree planting and meadow restoration. The Nature Network will help to ensure that the population of Cambridge and the surrounding district of South Cambridgeshire have significantly better provision of nature within easy reach of their homes and workplaces. The Nature Network provides a framework for nature’s recovery to help future growth respect and actively contribute to a coordinated plan to enhance nature, increase climate resilience, and deliver for societal and economic wellbeing.  
 
Wye Valley, Peak District
The Wye Valley stretches for approximately 20km across the Peak District National Park between Buxton and Bakewell. The project area covers 10,000 ha, with 1082 ha (11%) of SSSI including NNR and SAC and 300 ha (3%) of priority habitats, highly fragmented with c8,600 ha (86%) of improved grassland. It has a rich cultural heritage and is immensely popular for recreation, with a good rights of way network across the plateau and through the dales. The concentration of exposed rockfaces, cave networks and abandoned mines makes it an important destination for climbers and cavers, and the rivers support healthy populations of fish that attract many fly fishers. The landscape can be easily accessed by large populations in the nearby cities of Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby and Stoke-on-Trent and receives thousands of visitors a year.  
  
In the first year of the project, the partnership of National Trust, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Peak District National Park Authority and Natural England will facilitate a range of activities; the focus will be on restoring dewponds, enhancing this special and characteristic habitat networks. This habitat will support and enable the dispersal of a range of amphibians and invertebrates. Three surveys within the National Park will determine a baseline of habitat value prior to and post habitat works and assess biodiversity net gain opportunities across the area, helping to develop a framework for BNG investment and inform a market for private investment.  Nature recovery packs will also be provided to 500 residents to help reconnect them with their nature.
  
Wendling Beck, Norfolk
This project near Dereham in mid-Norfolk aims to transform farmland and its associated river valley through habitat restoration and creation and widespread adoption of more sustainable farming practices. The project partnership consists of local farmers, Norfolk Wildlife Trust and Norfolk County Council as landowners and is supported by The Nature Conservancy, Norfolk Rivers Trust, Norfolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), Natural England and Anglian Water. It is one of nine biodiversity net gain credits pilots.  
 
It is creating and enhancing grasslands, heathland, woodlands and wetlands, alongside other priority habitats, to increase populations of rare wildlife and flora including grey partridge, turtle dove and green wing orchid. The project aims to link up initiatives in the wider Upper River Wensum with around 10,000ha of the surrounding areas. The Wendling Beck project will deliver improvements to water, soil, air and biodiversity, as well as providing wildlife corridors and stepping-stones to connect three SSSIs within the area.  Located close to Dereham, the project also plans to provide permissive access route, along with links to the Norfolk Trails Network, benefiting health and wellbeing of residents and visitors as well as offering excellent educational opportunities.