South Gloucestershire Council is empowering residents to join a nature revolution by helping them develop community-led action plans.
The council launched its pioneering Local Nature Action Plans in 2021, which have evolved into Local Climate and Nature Action Plans (LCNAP), with 25 town and parish councils now having completed or are working on their own blueprint for nature recovery.
Recent actions for nature in South Gloucestershire include planting a bee corridor on a main road verge and green spaces in the village of Tytherington near Thornbury. Bradley Stoke Town Council has cameras that residents can hire that record wildlife and have run free tree giveaways. Plus the 5th Thornbury Guides and 6th Thornbury Brownies from the area came together with the parish council for the community planting day last month.
Councillor Louise Harris, South Gloucestershire Council’s cabinet member for the climate and nature emergency, said: “We’re really excited at the enthusiasm and take up of Local Climate and Nature Action Plans across South Gloucestershire. There is an amazing amount of expertise and energy within communities and the great thing about the plans is that they are locally led and locally owned, which means that people are driving the response in their own areas.
“With more than 10,000 town and parish councils in England, the initiative has the potential to prompt a community-led nature revolution as part of national response to ecological collapse.”
The work is part of the council’s Big Switch towards being carbon neutral by 2030 and increasing biodiversity in South Gloucestershire.