Oxfordshire Treescape ProjectProject

Since it was founded in 2019, Oxfordshire Treescape Project has worked collaboratively with academics, NGOs, local government and the private sector to support land managers, parishes and communities in nature recovery planning. In 2021 a small charity, GrowGreenCarbon, and the Environmental Change Institute agreed to jointly curate the project and build on the opportunity mapping we had developed in Oxfordshire, in particular working to find ways to deliver action on the ground. Our free reports based on detailed opportunity mapping show:

• existing natural assets that should be sensitively managed;
• potential locations for new nature-positive assets such as woodland, species rich grassland, hedges or agroforestry;
• what natural benefits (natural flood management, biodiversity, carbon storage, air pollution reduction and health and well-being) could be provided in those locations.

The reports are about starting conversations, stimulating ideas and building confidence and resources to facilitate the development of plans for nature recovery; we support report recipients in developing their ideas through advice on working with stakeholders and potential collaborators, linking them up with expert advisors and funders, and a range of other resources such as free access to interactive mapping, our newsletter, and support in working through our 10 steps guide to creating a nature recovery plan.

For many parishes, this has been the first time they have considered nature recovery alongside their other neighbourhood development plans for their community; and for those further along the journey, it has helped them identify the main priority areas for nature recovery, and where they should focus their efforts. For farmers and landowners, it has helped them start to consider how they evolve their businesses best to engage with nature recovery and nature based-solutions, which are core elements of the new central government farming funding, Environmental Land Management Scheme. Farming planning and change in farming businesses takes time, and having mapped information about where on a farm natural benefits can be delivered and where nature recovery interventions might be successful feeds into land use planning.

Oxfordshire Treescape Project is continually learning from the stakeholders that we work with and evolving our knowledge and experience in how to most effectively support land managers and communities in nature recovery efforts.