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Landscape Recovery

Scrubland planting at Wowo Campsite. Photo by Tanya Forbes

Celebrating Our Scrubland Superheroes

Explore the achievements of the Scrubland Superheroes project, which has worked to revive precious scrubland habitat across the Weald to Waves corridor, improving biodiversity, landscape connectivity, and the resilience of local ecosystems for threatened species.

Hedgerow, by jidanchaomian, CC BY-SA 2.0

New Connectivity Model

Since the Weald to Waves project was started in 2022 we have had the challenge not only to create a wildlife corridor, but to identify what connectivity means on the ground. Find out more about what our exciting research is revealing…

Fish swarm through the kelp forest

Our Must Watch: Ocean with David Attenborough

Currently showing in cinemas, Ocean is incredibly moving and shocking. It reminds us that there has never been a more urgent time to learn about our seas.

Mob Grazing cattle

Mob Grazing Kit Loan Scheme

Discover how mob grazing boosts pasture health, livestock welfare and biodiversity, and learn about our new kit loan scheme to help you get started.

Grazing cattle by Sam Joy

Conservation Grazing in Sussex

Discover how traditional livestock and low-impact farming are playing a vital role in restoring Sussex’s rare chalk grasslands and supporting threatened wildlife, while the closure of small abattoirs is putting this type of management at risk.

Coneflower by Amy Hurn

This is your chance to be part of a pioneering project benefitting nature recovery in Sussex and beyond. Your pledges – small or large – will help establish a nationally-significant 100-mile corridor for wildlife, regenerating our local ecosystems for years to come.

Buglife International B-Lines Layer. Weald to Waves

Weald to Waves is a citizen-led project powered by the individuals and groups pledging to take part. As project coordinators, we think a key part of our role is to provide the tools and resources the network needs to support nature recovery along the corridor. Among these tools are the interactive maps on our new website.

River Ouse in Lewes, Sussex

In a groundbreaking move to safeguard UK waterways, the River Ouse is poised to become the first English river granted legal rights. Lewes District Council has embraced the concept of recognising the rights of nature, acknowledging the crucial need to protect local rivers. This paves a potential pathway to enhancing the health of ecosystems by affording them legal protections similar to those of human beings.

Weald to Waves Corridor Map

Perhaps first we should ask, why is a corridor important? Traditionally,
conservation has tended to focus on restoring and protecting key areas, such as nature reserves. These core areas are vital for maintaining sustainable populations of wildlife species. However, as human land use has intensified, protected areas have become islands, isolated in the wider landscape. Gradually, species ranges become restricted to these areas, leading to declines, low genetic health, and eventually to local extinctions.

Dartford Warbler

The Dartford warbler is one of the defining species for the conservation of this important area. It’s easily overlooked, sometimes giving itself away by its scratchy song and occasional song-flight. If conditions are right, pairs can raise two, even three broods each summer. Once down to only 10 pairs in the whole of the UK, habitat protection and management, and warmer winters, now mean the UK population is in the thousands.

Wild farmland border. Photo by Alex Briggs

The UN estimates the planet has 60 harvests left, based on the current rate of soil depletion.

Green peas

This is an entirely valid concern in these uncertain times – is it possible to sustain food security alongside nature recovery?

Green grass field under rainbow by Lauren Lopes

We started the year with a new global commitment to set aside 30% of the planet for nature by the end of this decade.