Oxfordshire’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS)
Working together for the recovery of Oxfordshire’s natural environment.
Our local nature recovery strategy
Oxfordshire’s natural landscape is important, and we must protect it to secure its future.
Our local nature recovery strategy will allow us to develop a shared ambition to recover nature across Oxfordshire.
A coordinated strategy for nature's recovery can help wildlife to flourish, improve the quality of our air and water, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
It's part of a new series of strategies that cover the whole of England, helping deliver on the 2021 Environment Act. We will be publishing the documents associated with this project on this page.
Find out more about a local nature recovery strategy on GOV.UK.
Our ambition for Oxfordshire
We're leading for the county and bringing people and organisations interested in and caring about our wonderful habitats and species.
The strategy will create a written list and a map to highlight areas of land that are particularly important for biodiversity. This decision-making will be influenced by the priorities collected from people across our county. The priorities will be linked to potential actions people across Oxfordshire can take in those areas.
Defra’s video helps explain what a difference this work can make..
Get involved and have your say
'Please look at the details below to hear about any opportunities to get involved and have your say on the LNRS for Oxfordshire
Phase 1
'This was our first information-gathering phase to hear your input, ambitions and priorities for nature's recovery in Oxfordshire. We held 12 workshops, two engagement events with parish councillors and one online survey for 40 days.
This began the first phase of our engagement process with input from 1,038 people between the 20 February and the 31 March 2024.
The data will now be analysed and a summary will be shared with you in May.
Phase 2
We held an online webinar on 8 May to present a summary of the results from our workshops and survey, and to explain the process we intend to use for creating a map of the county for Summer 2024. Over 100 of you joined us.
We also launched our mapping tool on Let’s talk Oxfordshire on 9 May, so you could tell us about habitat projects. This included: actions that you may have taken, are planning to take, or to tell us about land where you’re willing to support habitat creation, restoration, or improvement works but haven’t yet got plans.
We also advised that if you already have digital maps data files/shape files that show where you have/want to take actions, you didn’t need to use the map, and could instead share these directly with us by email. We received about 15 emails and over 170 locations added to the map tool.
Phase 3
Oxfordshire's draft Local Nature Recovery Strategy is now live for you to view and comment on. This includes documents that list biodiversity priorities to achieve in the county, a list of species to focus recovery efforts on, and a map tool which shows the areas where the LNRS is recommending that local people and organisations focus their resources to undertake habitat creation and improvement work.
The documents and map will be available online from Friday 18 October until Sunday the 1 December 2024 (23:59pm). During this time, you can view the drafted documents and tell us about anything that you think we need to change before we finalise the strategy in 2025.
Phase 4 (Spring 2025)
We will communicate the project's conclusion and the important actions that can be taken for nature recovery.
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How to help nature now
Remember that the LNRS is one tool of many that we can use to achieve nature’s recovery. The LNRS aims to complement existing work, not to replace or duplicate it. The LNRS’s aim is to help focus resources and effort towards shared goals for improving biodiversity in Oxfordshire. There are other things that you can do too with people and organisations who are creating space for nature in Oxfordshire now!
We can achieve nature recovery if we all work together
There are many things you can do right now to make a difference, whether you are an individual, a community group, a parish or town council, a business, a farmer, a landowner or a land-manager. Here are some ideas and where you can find more information from groups like Wild Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire’s local Wildlife Trust BBOWT, Community Action Groups Oxfordshire, and more.
For individuals
For individuals
- Learn more about different species
- Learn more about habitats
- Support local growers who are farming and supporting biodiversity - Buy Local
- Make your garden, balcony, or window box more wildlife-friendly by planting native flowers, creating a pond, installing a bird feeder, or leaving a corner for wildflowers. You can find tips and advice on how to help wildlife in your garden and bring nature to your doorstep
- View this map of groups in Oxfordshire and join your local nature group, parish/town council, business network, catchment partnership, farmer cluster, or conservation charity. You can find a directory of community action groups working on environmental issues across Oxfordshire
- Take part in citizen science projects, such as recording wildlife sightings, monitoring water quality, or surveying habitats. You can find out more about the opportunities for student projects, volunteering, and support to get started with recording
- Reduce your environmental impact by using less water, energy, and plastic, buying local and organic food, avoiding pesticides and peat, and choosing sustainable transport options. You could install water butts to capture rainwater.
- Support campaigns and petitions that call for stronger policies and actions to protect nature and the environment.
- View the climate action page to see what you could be doing for nature in Oxfordshire Climate Action Oxfordshire
For community groups and parish/town councils
For community groups and parish/town councils
- Create or improve habitats for wildlife in your local area, such as planting trees, hedges, or wildflower meadows, restoring ponds or streams, or creating community orchards or gardens. You can find guidance and funding opportunities for community-led nature projects
- Engage and educate your community about the importance and benefits of nature, and encourage them to take part in nature activities and events. You can find resources and ideas for community engagement and education
- Develop a local plan or strategy for nature recovery, based on the priorities and opportunities identified by the LNRS. You can find out more about how to develop a local plan for nature and map of your area
- Influence local decision-makers and planners to ensure that nature is fully considered and valued in policies and plans that affect your area.
For businesses, farmers, landowners and land-managers
For businesses, farmers, landowners and land-managers
- Manage your land in a way that supports and enhances biodiversity, such as creating or restoring habitats, implementing wildlife-friendly farming practices, or joining agri-environment schemes. You can find guidance and funding opportunities for land management through farm cluster groups. Similarly, the NFU, and the CLA each host regular events about nature recovery on farms (as well as various other topics) and provide an advice service to their members.
- To create freshwater habitats like ponds or wetlands, this charity offers support and resources to landowners.
- Implement nature-based solutions that use nature to provide wider environmental or societal benefits, such as reducing flood risk, improving water quality, storing carbon, or enhancing well-being. There are existing groups who focus on supporting projects that help contribute towards river health and the improved quality of land around the rivers (catchments). You can find partnerships close to you here and you can join catchment partnerships in Oxfordshire that for the Ock, Evenlode, Cherwell and Ray, Windrush, Thame, and the South Chilterns.
- Measure and report on your environmental impact and performance, and set targets and actions to reduce your carbon footprint, water use, waste, and pollution. You can find tools and resources to help you measure and improve your environmental impact
Funding and resource is key to help make this change
The LNRS and partners understand that a lot of these actions need to be financially supported. There are various government initiatives and schemes but funding can come from a variety of sources. For example, Oxfordshire’s Local Nature Partnership (OLNP) are continuing to deliver work on finance in Oxfordshire to develop and align funding that could work with the LNRS. Alongside this Oxfordshire has a major funder of nature recovery work, the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment (TOE) where you can apply for grants. The Wild Oxfordshire monthly email Bulletin also has information on funding for community groups and parish/town councils, you can sign up at the bottom of the Wild Oxfordshre webpage. this. Check on a funding database for Oxfordshire that is kept up to date by Community Action Groups Oxfordshire,
Contact us
If you’d like to get in touch with Oxfordshire’s LNRS team, please email: localnaturerecoverystrategy@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Documents
During the preparation and development of this local nature recovery strategy (LNRS), a large volume of information and documentation has been produced. Different people and organisations will be interested in different parts of this so below, we have listed where you can find useful documents and information if you would like to dive further into the preparation of the strategy.
LNRS overview and terminology
LNRS Guidance from Natural England and Defra
- Identifying and agreeing priorities and potential measures within LNRS (pdf format, 270 KB)
- Local nature recovery strategy statutory guidance (pdf format, 254 KB)
- Species Recovery within Local Nature Recovery Strategies v.1 August 2023 (pdf format, 303 KB)
- The Environment Local Nature Recovery Strategies Procedure Regulations 2023 (pdf format, 277 KB)
LNRS reports and data
- Report to update data about the local State of Nature (pdf format, 407 KB)
- Oxfordshire LNRS Species Long List Review Report (pdf format, 462 KB)
- Oxfordshire's Existing Areas of Particular Importance to Biodiversity Report (pdf format, 737 KB)