Recover With Nature
Working with nature
Making space for biodiversity , Biodiversity
Protecting wildlife and helping nature recover across National Parks.
Restoring precious habitats , Habitats
Up to 80% of the country’s priority conservation habitats are within National Parks. We’re working to protect and restore these vital places.
Taking action on climate change , Climate change
Restoring and caring for landscapes to help tackle climate change and build a more resilient future.
Recover with nature
Below are some examples of our Recover With Nature projects. These projects grow wellbeing through doing the right thing by nature. They don’t see caring for nature as a cost, instead they use different approaches, new science and technology to care for nature and in so doing increase economic, social and personal wellbeing. They multiply value, creating a win-win.
Recover With Nature are collaborative efforts, to deliver at scale. That might be collaboration between different National Parks but will also in the majority of cases mean collaboration with other organisations: government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the private sector and landowners.
Recover With Nature projects fall into two categories: Environmental Recovery Projects and Social Recovery Projects.
Environmental Recovery Projects
Environmental Recovery Projects explore new means to care for and work with nature that also reduce carbon emissions and create new economic models.
Net Zero With Nature
Net Zero With Nature (NZWN) is the UK National Parks strategy for the fight against the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis. It includes plans to secure at least £239 million of additional funding to restore and protect forests, wetlands, meadows and peatlands within National Parks and surrounding areas. The 15 UK National Parks have made clear commitments on climate change and biodiversity goals and NZWN also describes how we will inspire and help our communities, visitors and UK plc to identify and commit to their own ambitions in this vital effort.
The Great North Bog
The Great North Bog is a peatland restoration project that covers 7,000 square kilometres. Peatland is the UK’s rainforest – a key asset in tackling the climate emergency. This 20-year project – including four National Parks, three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the proposed South Pennines Park – will vastly improve the UK’s ability to sequester carbon and enhance biodiversity. It will also reduce flood risk in the surrounding communities – helping tackle the symptoms of climate change as well as the cause. It will even improve the quality of drinking water whilst reducing the costs of supplying it.
Electric National Parks
The Peak District and Lake District have teamed up with local and national government to access significant funding to address the complex issue of sustainable transport. Work includes:
- Installing the infrastructure so that travel within Parks is purely electric
- Developing integrated transport strategies that help visitors get to Parks in new ways
- Social and behaviour change thinking that will help people adopt new personal strategies.
This is a golden example of how National Parks can be engines for a green recovery to secure the sustainable wellbeing of the UK.
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Social Recovery Projects
Social Recovery Projects explore ways to increase the numbers and diversity of people benefiting physically, mentally and socially from accessing nature. This includes creating employment and careers that are sustainable in the long term.
Nature Health Network
Nature connectedness can make a positive impact on both physical and mental health. The scientific evidence for the beneficial, cost effective impact of nature connectedness as part of an effective public health strategy is well established. How to make that work is less well understood.
Four National Parks in the South of England have teamed up with Bournemouth University and Public Health England in the region to create the Nature Health Network to aggregate experience and knowledge of what works. It has over 40 member organisations including charities, NHS commissioning bodies, local government and frontline healthcare teams. A new Fellowship post has been created that will see five healthcare professionals take a one year post within National Parks to advance the scientific evidence of this work in their own personal area of interest and to take that experience back into national Public Health bodies at a senior level.
Careers With Nature
A vital part of Green Recovery is giving opportunities for sustainable careers to young people. The National Park Authorities are already contributing to this through youth employment strategies, apprenticeships and internships, not to mention the inspirational work being done with thousands of schoolchildren every year.
As part of the drive for green jobs – National Parks Authorities provided Kickstart opportunities for young people on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment. National Parks across the United Kingdom work to give young people a positive start and opportunities to look at long term careers within the National Park network. A diverse workforce is key for the future of National Parks, and careers in sustainable sectors are vital for the future of the UK economy.
Parks For All
Across the 15 National Parks there are dozens of projects that engage with community programmes and charities to afford access to underrepresented communities. Parks For All is a project to aggregate this experience in order to accelerate an improvement in equality of access to National Parks and to careers looking after them.
These existing projects will act as a model to be rolled out more widely and as a means to gain grant and commercial funding to boost this work. To make sure that it is guided by people that have first-hand, lived experience of relevant issues, Parks For All will bring leaders of community programmes into the project as the key voices informing strategy and delivery. National Parks will also seek commercial partners that have successful track records of creating meaningful change at pace in this area.
Innovation Engines for a Green Recovery
Incremental change is no longer an option. We need approaches that will shift things by an order of magnitude x10, x100, x1000. As a consequence, we have re-examined how National Parks deliver their statutory purposes to identify how we can also deliver this type of change at scale. We see our collective role as this: to be Innovation Engines for a Green Recovery. We are working together – and with other partners – to create large scale projects that test new approaches to generating sustainable growth in the wellbeing of people, landscapes, nature, culture, social institutions and the economy.
You don`t have to wait for nightfall to experience the magic of darkness. ✨🌙
Now the nights are drawing in, “Dusking", a traditional Dutch twilight ritual, could teach us how to appreciate the darkening evenings.
As the golden hour fades into the blue hour, the landscape begins it quiet transformation. Colours soften, sounds change, and a hidden world starts to emerge. Bats take to the skies, moths begin their nightly journeys, and familiar places reveal a completely different character.
While the tradition of Dusking may have begun in the Netherlands and re-introduced in Amsterdam, shared experiences are spreading across Europe.
Places like @northyorkmoors are holding dusking events as part of their Dark Skies Festivals, inviting people to slow down and reconnect with nature together.
Have you ever tried Dusking? Tell us below 👇
📸
Danby Beacon, North York Moors National Park (Russell Burton)
Sutton Bank at sunset, North York Moors National Park (Oliver Sherratt)
Sutton Bank at dusk, North York Moors National Park (Steve Bell)
North York Moors National Park (Steve Bell)
The clocks go back on Sunday, which means more darkness. ⏰ ⭐
But darkness isn’t always a bad thing. Darker nights bring many benefits for our natural environment, supporting wildlife and helping nature thrive.
Stargazing beneath our dark skies also connects us to centuries of traditions and our enduring fascination with the stars. ✨
Our National Parks are home to some of the darkest skies in the UK. By protecting these special places, we can help preserve the dark skies that benefit both people and nature.
#DarkSkies #NationalParks #ClocksGoBack
👻 Strange sights and spooky stories await in the @Southdownsnp
From mist-shrouded woods and twisted trees to castles beneath the moon, the National Park is home to many eerie spots.
And across our 15 National Parks, there are tales that have endured for centuries, legends still passed down today, and histories with dark chapters.
📸
Ghost in South Downs - Luis Fernando Mancilla
Iping tree - Richard Murray
Harvest moon - Andrew Gambling Photography
Devil’s Dyke - Sam Moore
Stamner Park - Finn Curry
#SouthDowns #Halloween #NationalParks
🎉 Happy Exmoor Day, @exmoornp!
Today, Exmoor National Park celebrates years of connecting people with nature, wildlife and the great outdoors.
From England’s largest wild red deer herd and native ponies to Europe’s first International Dark Sky Reserve and dramatic landscapes, Exmoor is a place full of life, history and discovery.
Its landscapes, wildlife and historic villages bring people closer to nature and create opportunities to explore, connect and enjoy the benefits of being outdoors.
Here’s to Exmoor – and many more adventures to come! 💚
#Exmoor #ExmoorNationalPark #NationalParksUK
Happy birthday @parc_eryri 🎂
From its towering peaks and sweeping valleys to its rich heritage, Eryri (Snowdonia) is a place that means so much to so many people.
It`s a landscape full of stories, shaped by generations of people and home to some of Wales` most treasured places, from the summit of Yr Wyddfa to the quieter corners.
Today, we`re celebrating everything that makes Eryri unique, from the people and traditions that give it its character to the ongoing work to protect its landscapes and wildlife.
Share your favourite memories of Eryri in the comments! 💬
📸Ogwen Valley, Snowdonia @cinqueportsphotography
#Eryri #EryriNationalPark #TheAnswerIsNationalParks
Autumn is a chance to give nature a helping hand. 🍂
From leaving fallen leaves to providing food for birds, small actions can make a big difference to the world around us.
Here are some of the ways to help nature this season.
#NatureRecovery #Autumn #NationalParks
An ancient wall almost 2,000 years old, and a catch-up with your mate? ✅
Historic landmarks like Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland National Park have been connecting people for centuries.
While that connection looks very different today from the wall’s original role as a Roman defensive fortification, it’s still a place where people come together and explore history.
Because our National Parks are about so much more than great places for a day out. They’re places to connect with friends, clear your head, get active and learn about history, all in one place.
#Northumberland #HadriansWall #NationalParksUK
They’re more than just pretty places. 🌳
Our National Parks are home to some incredible trees, from ancient giants to England’s tallest tree.
Swipe through for a few #WildFacts about the trees growing across our 15 National Parks.
#NationalParksUK #Trees #Woodland
