From blueprint to action: Kent Wildlife Trust's impact on the Local Nature Recovery Strategy

The developing Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Kent and Medway is being delivered by the Making Space for Nature team at KCC (MS4N). In this blog, find out how Kent Wildlife Trust are getting involved and why. 

Why is it important? 

Nature Recovery is not just a nice to have, a healthy environment underpins a healthy society and thriving economy. Healthy soils are needed for long term and productive farming, naturalised rivers and floodplains can hold back water and reduce flooding in urban areas, trees and scrub suck up carbon and clean water, fighting climate change and reducing purification costs. Nature Recovery is for everyone and, everyone must be involved to achieve it. 

What makes the LNRS different? 

1. Bigger – Local Nature Recovery Strategies will build on mapping of sites already identified as vital habitat to protect, by then keying in on areas of opportunity and relating to future farm subsidy payments. 
2. Better – the 2021 Environment Act means the development of the LNRS is legally binding and local authorities must take due consideration of these strategies in planning decisions. 
3. Joined up – LNRS are nationwide, with 48 strategies joining up to form a Nature Recovery Network across England. 

How are KWT involved? 

• We are involved at every level - from our CEO on the MS4N Board to Officers within stakeholder groups and everything in between. Bringing our collective 65 years of conservation experience and expertise in Kent to develop the strategy area description. 
• We are Facilitating engagement – from our Marketing and Comms department, our digital development heroes to our Farmer Cluster team and Community Organisers, we are spreading the word and creating innovative apps to help the MS4N team galvanise the involvement of as broad a stakeholder base as possible. 
• We are innovating – although we need an ambitious strategy in place, we are already looking at how the LNRS can be delivered to make reversing wildlife declines countywide a reality. Our in-house Nature-based Solutions (NbS) team and teams at Wilder Carbon and Adonis blue consultancy are developing the marketplace in Kent to finance the scale of habitat restoration needed. 

Strategy Development:  

The shortlist - The MS4N project will develop a longlist and then shortlist of priorities for nature, we will be advocating for an evidence-based approach, proposing key species that either underpin ecological function or can act as flagships and ignite the action of local communities. 

Mapping areas of importance – aside from the familiar designated areas such as SSSI’s, our two National Landscapes and KWTs 80+ nature reserves, we will be pushing for the inclusion of previously overlooked areas of the county, such as the low weald, where key habitats and species are still in need of protection. 

Mapping areas of opportunity – This will be a key area for us to feed into, where our more recent work facilitating farmer clusters and the landscape scale conservation activities farmers are developing as a result, could play a significant role in identifying areas for recovery. 

Publication – this is where the real work starts!  

Look out for the Making Space for Nature app: our digital development team have been hard at work, creating a new app to help Kent and Medway's citizens log their actions for nature.