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Manage your land for nature

Regardless of whether you own 2 acres or 2,000 acres, there are lots of ways you can transform your landholding into a haven for wildlife, joining the collaborative county-wide movement to restore nature under Surrey’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
Implementing nature-based solutions on your land means that you’ll not only be helping to reverse Surrey’s above-average nature decline, but you’ll also be contributing to better water quality, flood prevention, increased carbon storage, and if you’re a business you might even see a host of benefits for your bottom line. Surrey Wildlife Trust have worked with over 150 landowners in the last few years, demonstrating the swell in popularity for nature based solutions.

The adoption of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) is rapidly increasing in the UK and beyond, and could help us avoid nearly £300 billion in damage and loss by 2050, by reducing hazards associated with our changing climate. Managing your land for nature is a great way to help address societal challenges by working with nature to restore natural processes, resulting in benefits to both nature and communities. Examples range from planting hedgerows and restoring wildflower meadows to installing a green roof or creating a flood storage pond. Surrey Wildlife Trust's State of Nature Report shows that 11% of our native species have gone extinct in the last few decades, and our landscape is becoming ever more at risk of experiencing devastating floods and wildfires. Our friends at Surrey Wildlife Trust are a great source of information on nature-based solutions, and they have lots of handy tips on how you can adapt your land management to support wildlife and reduce the impact of your activities:

  • Consider what habitats you have already and how they are being managed. For example, would your meadow benefit from reduced mowing over the summer months to encourage more wildflower growth and attract pollinators? Also think about whether there is scope for habitat creation (where appropriate). For example, planting hedgerows along fence lines is a great way of greening up your field boundaries while also providing additional food and shelter for wildlife.
  • Check you are following government guidelines for storing and disposing of agricultural waste. This will help to protect our waterways from agricultural pollution caused by runoff. There are also NbS that can help with reducing the impacts of agricultural waste, such as creating vegetated buffer zones along the edge of ponds and watercourses to filter out pollutants from runoff before they reach the water.
  • Explore nature-friendly farming options, such as regenerative farming, to improve soil health and reduce reliance on chemical pesticides and fertilizers. This will help to boost biodiversity and increase resilience longer-term.
  • Connect with your local community: Join forces with your neighbours, contact local environmental groups, and share expertise (and people-power) to expand your impact beyond your own landholding.