‘Land corridors are crucial in making a difference to biodiversity and the extinction crisis we face’

BACM landholder

A key element of the Bristol Avon Catchment Market (BACM) is the formation of strong working relationships with landholders to ensure the projects we collaboratively design are impactful, sustainable and produce numerous benefits for people and nature.

Over the past few months, the BACM Delivery Team have been working closely with landholders across the Bristol Avon catchment, designing and developing nature-based projects on their land. Our Delivery Team includes ecologists from both Avon and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust; Caitlin (myself), Esther, and Kerry along with Team Manager, Chelsie.

After hosting a number of informative webinars,  landowners came forward to register their interest in working with us to develop a project. Since then, site visits, desk studies, ecological surveys and discussions have allowed us to fully understand each site. Factors such as current ecological status, geology, soil type, topography, land use, proximity to important populations of protected species or designated sites, surrounding habitats and public access have all been considered. Nature Recovery Network maps, where available, have also been used to assess potential for landscape scale conservation. Discussions with landholders and land agents have helped ensure projects work alongside existing land use and/or farm business models. Careful and well considered development of nature-based projects is highly integral to the Wildlife Trust’s involvement; we want to ensure we are maximising land for biodiversity and contributing to landscape scale nature recovery.

As an example, a grassland enhancement project has been designed for a land parcel which was largely unproductive and providing little financial gain. With this Nature based project, the land could be improved over the next 30 year period to provide a species-rich native grassland habitat. Such habitats integrated into the wider landscape are crucial in supporting beneficial insects and pollinators, in turn working to improve adjacent crops and productivity.

If successful in the market round, landholders will benefit from a 30-year Nature Based Project Agreement, guaranteeing an income from the land. It also enables them to diversify their income and land use whilst allowing them to continue to meet their land and business needs, all the while working to support nature. Find out more about how landholders can receive fair payment by delivering nature-based projects on their land.