The Wildlife Trusts’ call to restore the UK’s battered ecosystems, for wildlife and people
... huge and exciting new wetlands, alive with wild birds, and holding back the water which might flood our homes.
... nature reserves where flower-rich meadows and shady, inviting woodlands stretch as far as the horizon.
... being able to walk from your front door into a continuous stretch of wildlife-rich countryside which goes on for miles.
... a countryside which is as rich in wildlife as it was in yesteryear, but helps maintain our climate, produces our food, and replenishes our spirits – a countryside for the 21st Century.
What is A Living Landscape?
A Living Landscape is The Wildlife Trusts' vision for the future of the UK. It is a new way of thinking about how we manage land to do more for wildlife, people and the economy. In Living Landscapes:
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Wildlife is abundant and flourishing, both in the countryside and our towns and cities
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Whole landscapes and ecosystems have been restored
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Wildlife is able to move freely through these landscapes and adapt to the effects of climate change;
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Communities are benefitting fully from the fundamental services that healthy ecosystems provide
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Everyone has access to wildlife-rich green spaces and can enjoy and be inspired by the natural world.
The Wildlife Trusts are working with partners and local communities to create A Living Landscape across the whole of the UK. We are restoring damaged and fragmented blocks of habitat, reconnecting these habitats and linking them to the green space in our cities, towns and villages to rebuild nature in our midst.
Thinking big – a landscape-scale approach to nature conservation
Wildlife needs room to move, especially in the face of climate change. The nature reserves we manage are unique and special havens, alive with plants, birds, mammals and insects.
But the wider landscape surrounding these sites is often inhospitable to wildlife. Intensive farmland, towns and cities, busy roads and railways, all make it difficult for wildlife to move between safe havens. As a conservation organisation, we have had to think differently about how to protect wildlife in this modern landscape.
Through Living Landscape Schemes, The Wildlife Trusts are joining the dots, making the whole landscape more wildlife-friendly. Linking isolated reserves allows wildlife to move freely, to trickle out through the landscape. Eventually, we hope this will mean we all experience the splendour of nature as part of our daily lives.
And our work doesn't stop at the shoreline. The Wildlife Trusts also have a vision for Living Seas, where wildlife thrives from the depths of the ocean to the coastal shallows.
What is a Living Landscape scheme?
The Wildlife Trusts are already at work to create the transformation to A Living Landscape. Over 100 Living Landscape schemes are underway across the whole of the UK, covering an area of over 1.5m hectares.
Each Living Landscape scheme covers a large area of land: a naturally functioning landscape (such as a river catchment) encompassing several Wildlife Trust reserves and other important wildlife areas. The schemes see individual Wildlife Trusts up and down the UK working with partners, landowners and local communities to restore the natural landscape.
These local schemes are all pieces of the jigsaw that will combine to form the wider Living Landscape we envisage: a national network of high-quality natural areas for people and wildlife.
The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust recognises the importance of a landscape scale view and works closely with partners in Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North-East Lincolnshire to promote large scale habitat management and restoration.
The Trust manages nature reserves covering 3300 hectares (8300 acres) throughout the three counties. The Trust's policy is to, where possible, extend existing reserves, enabling adjacent land to be brought into conservation management and increasing the space available for wildlife. Former arable land, adjacent to nature reserves has successfully been transformed into a diverse habitat for flora and fauna, for example at Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve, Red Hill Nature Reserve, Goslings Corner Wood Nature Reserve, Far Ings National Nature Reserve and on the coast at Saltfleetby. These nature reserves often form the core of Living Landscape schemes.
