Workshop resources

Key headlines

• Climate change and biodiversity are inextricably linked.
• Nature-based solutions will play an essential role in our transition to a net zero carbon economy.
• The provision and management of green infrastructure rich in nature can help communities adapt to climate change.

Why does nature matter?

• The natural environment is the foundation for all aspects of our daily lives. The stock of the aspects of UK natural capital we are currently able to value was an estimated £1.2 trillion (2019).
• Over half (57 percent) of the annual value of ecosystem services in England in 2020 was derived from cultural services, predominantly recreation and tourism (£12.4 billion) and health benefits (£5.5 billion) associated with this (ONS 2023)

What's the problem?

• Climate and biodiversity crises: UK is bottom 10 percent globally and worst G7 nation for biodiversity loss. Nature is key to mitigating and adapting to climate change, and supporting health and wellbeing.
• The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with 99.7 percent of fens, 97 percent of species-rich grasslands, 80 percent of lowland heathlands, up to 70 percent of ancient woodlands and up to 85 percent of salt marshes destroyed or degraded.
• Since the 1970s, 41 percent of all UK species studied have declined while 26 percent of the UK’s mammals are at risk of extinction.

The impacts for people, economy and the environment

• Health crisis: Annual loss to economy with mental health absence from established £70 to £100 billion.
• One in five Brits live in areas deprived of green space while one in nine children have not visited a park, forest or natural environment in the last year.
• 38 percent of the country live more than a 15-minute walk from a green or blue space.
• In the 200 most disadvantaged lower super output areas in urban settings with the lowest levels of green space, 97 percent have no access to green space within 15 minutes’ walk from home.

The benefits for people, economy and the environment

• £2.1 billion per year could be saved in health costs if everyone in England had good access to greenspace, due to increased physical activity in those spaces.
• The annual value of air pollution removal services by urban vegetation was around £800 million in avoided negative health impacts in 2021.
• Urban nature provides over £15 billion of benefits to the economy every year.
• 10 to 50 percent increased willingness to spend on products whilst in the presence of street trees in central business districts.
• 30 to 50 percent Increase in restaurant patronage due to street trees.
• 40 percent increase in commercial trading rates after investment in well planned green space.

Purpose:

Provide facilitators with practical examples and evidence of how nature can help support delivery of a range of service priorities. 

Evidence on benefits from nature recovery

Purpose:

Provide useful sources of data and evidence about a place to help generate thoughts about priorities, opportunities, challenges and interventions.

Content:

• How data and evidence about a place can be used help generate thoughts about priorities, opportunities, challenges and interventions.
• Key things to consider include:
  • Data capture, management and sharing to inform monitoring and change.
  • The relationship with land use planning (including competing and complementary uses), linkages with place-making and infrastructure, and the opportunity to secure multiple benefits.
• What types of platforms and tools are freely available for local authorities to use including LNRS data viewer, EA Catchment Explorer, NE GI portal, Magic, Environmental Benefits from Nature Tool, Nature Positive and Nature, data download.
• What are the tools that are easy to use, how are they being used to identify interventions including Birmingham I tree eco, Liverpool City Region ecosystem services mapping and LNRS.
• Produce useful examples of data and evidence which can be used to show interesting views of a local authority area such as deprivation, flooding, green spaces, air quality, asset registers to inform the toolkit process and discussions with service leads.

• Use an example to show how these key datasets can be used to inform priority areas and activities such as the River Wye LNRS data viewer and Black Country iTree Eco Project with a Project news item  

   

Purpose:

The workshop templates mirror the services and questions that are set out in the action template above and have been separated so these can be printed out and used for each workshop. Once completed the information from each workshop can then be added to the action template to provide a complete picture. 

Workshop #1 Priorities & Opportunities 

Use the first part of the action template to map out:

• What opportunities are you currently delivering?
• Challenges - What are the challenges affecting delivery?
• Strengths - What are you doing well to address these?
• Needs - What would you like to do better?
• Opportunities - What can you do to improve and how?

Use the checklists and template to help inform the process.

What are the ‘immediate’ opportunities you would like to consider further?

Priorities and opportunities template:

Workshop #2 Barriers and Solutions

Workshop #3 Funding & Finance

An 'Action Template' has been developed to capture the output of the 3 workshops in each chosen service area. Its provides a process which can be worked through to understand what assets councils have control over, activities they already carry out or policies that are in place as a way of prompting thoughts on what nature recovery activities they might want to carry on doing, do something differently or investigate a new way of working i.e. alternative mowing regimes or highway maintenance and others.

• The template will need to be localised and adapted by the council that is doing this work for real.
• It starts off as an empty template with a list of suggested council services included in the first column (to be localised) and all the key questions to be addressed as part of the three workshops running across the first row.
• To make the process manageable each of the three workshops are colour coded with a limited number of questions included to be populated.
• As councils go through the different workshop sessions they will increase the amount of information included in the template identifying opportunities they want to explore more fully.
• Ultimately they will end up with a opportunities to take forward in more detail.

Tab #1: A ready to use blank excel action template (above)

TO FOLLOW: Tab #2: A completed excel action template including practical examples drawn from councils that have been using the template

Tab #3: A suggested list of council assets as well as external stakeholder assets (above)

Tab #4: A list of potential interventions (above)

Risk analysis 4 box

Key risks to consider

• reputational risk
• landowner risk
• investor risk
• buyer risk
• environmental risk
• regulatory risk
• stakeholder risk
• litigation risk.

The following quick wins are a list of suggested activities that councils could consider and are drawn from suggestions from other councils including the Sutton Council.

Suggested quick wins could include the following 

• establish a nature recovery commitment and a nature champion
• include impact assessments for committee reports and projects
• share best practice across teams
• review procurement of products and services and the way contracts are written
• consider alternative maintenance regimes such as ‘No Mow’.

A more detailed list of quick wins could include:

Updating internal policies, objectives and processes

A. Use suppliers that have an ethical mission/framework.
B. Audit carbon/biodiversity offsetting claimed by third-party firms (avoid 'greenwashing').
C. Audit projects that directly impact habitats/vegetation.
D. Assess impact of borough-wide procurement of products and services (for example lighting) and the way contracts are written.
E. Check pension provider supports ethical investment.
F. Source food locally, avoiding palm oil.
G. Avoid peat-based products.
H. Identify mono-culture/single-use decisions/outcomes and explore if a multi-functional approach could deliver better outcomes.
I. Design for bio-solar roofs rather than only solar.
J. Understand the council's policy of 60 percent native planting schemes.
K. Ensure Nature's services are recognized as critical infrastructure in new development.
L. Write/approve policy, provide maps and tools to guide developers to see nature as essential/added value.

Manage land to improve biodiversity 

M. Understand the biodiversity value of your assets/under your control.
N. Identify opportunities for habitat creation.
O. Invest in local initiatives to reduce food miles and support local employment/expertise in food growing (for example community farms and more.)
P. Implement a Kerbside Strategy - to get more nature-greening along roads and encourage active travel.
Q. When attenuation tanks are proposed, ask for further justification - green roofs and rain gardens should be the first choice.

Educate, advise and raise awareness

R. Train new staff on nature-based solutions.
S. Help people benefit from nature through increased direct experience
T. Require an understanding of the climate and ecological crisis and evidence of personal action through the recruitment process.
U. Share best practice across teams.
V. Recognize and promote the health and wellbeing benefits of nature-rich places.
W. The value of holistic NHS delivery, through social prescribing, volunteering in green spaces, supporting community gardens.
X. Provide Nature/Biodiversity/climate courses at colleges.
Y. Be familiar with terms such as Nature-Based Solutions, Natural Capital, Biodiversity Net Gain, and what they mean to your service.
Z. Think outside your role or service, help colleagues across the council.