Graphics provided by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
Transforming our towns and city for people & nature
Our vision for a Wilder Nottinghamshire
With almost 90% of people living in towns and cities feeling the impact of the decline of the high street and endless pressure to build more homes and with species once common in urban areas in decline its time to take a stand.
With your help we can realise a once in a generation opportunity to transform our urban areas for wildlife and people by ensuring habitats are protected and restored and that people have a right to access nature on their doorstep.
We are calling on government, planners and politicians to take a nature first approach to help put wildlife into recovery and secure a greener recovery for our urban landscapes and the people that live, work and learn in them.
It’s time for our towns and our city to be transformed from grey to green and we can all play our part.
Take action for a Wilder Nottinghamshire
By taking a nature first approach to reimagining our urban areas Nottinghamshire can stand out from the crowd as centres across the UK seek ways to recover from the impacts of Covid-19 - securing investment that will reap rewards for generations to come. We're working to make sure councils and developers play their part too, but YOU can make a real difference!
Working with local authorities
There's no need to feel intimidated by contacting and working with local authorities! Read our guide on who to talk to, how to ask questions and how to take action to welcome wildlife back.
Any space, green or otherwise, anywhere in the country can be improved for wildlife
What we want
Communities are no longer prepared to sit back and watch remaining wild areas and greenspaces disappear, they want to see leadership from decision makers to tackle the nature and climate crisis and they want their voices to be heard.
- Protect nature - we are still losing natural spaces at an alarming rate and creating harsh environments where nature struggles to thrive e.g. herbicide use on our pavements and extensive mowing regimes; we need to do more to protect nature in our urban areas
- Fairer access to nature - the poorest people in our society have least access to nature, this situation must be addressed by Council's committing to minimum standards to ensure better local access to natural spaces
- 20% gain for nature - all developments must strive to deliver a 20% increase in nature onsite and, as a last resort offsite, backed by the Government's Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) standard
Tom Marshall
Declining species
8,431 species have been assessed using Red List criteria
Of these, 15% have been classified as threatened with extinction from Great Britain, including species once common in urban areas such as the hedgehog and water vole.
41% of species have decreased in abundance
More species have shown strong or moderate decreases in abundance (41%) than increases (26%) since 1970, and likewise more species have decreased in distribution (27%) than increased (21%)
Building Wilder places
We recognise that people need homes to live in and not all housing development need damage wildlife. By designing in harmony with local surroundings, working with nature and constructing sustainable carbon neutral or carbon positive homes good development can help to create wilder places where people aspire to live.
Concept visualisation looking up towards the Castle by Influence
What we want
- Knowledge-based decisions - only two of Nottinghamshire's eight Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) employ ecologists to help guide planning decisions. We believe all LPAs should have access to qualified ecologists to ensure informed decisions when determining planning applications and that the mandatory 10% Biodiversity Net Gain is delivered.
- Wildbelt – in addition to better protection for existing wildlife habitats we're calling for a new planning designation to protect sites created to support nature's recovery - we're calling this Wildbelt.
Good developments
...incorporate existing habitats.
...build in climate resilience and benefits for nature.
...create and restore ecological networks.
...support wildlife by creating new habitats to help bring nature closer to people.
Matthew Roberts
Creating a Wilder Nottinghamshire by 2030
Achieving a people-powered nature recovery. This is our overall vision for wildlife in Nottinghamshire over the next decade.