Cambridgeshire County Council is calling on residents across the county to play an active role in restoring local nature as part of the ‘Nature Recovery - From the Ground Up’ project (NR-FGU) a new initiative supporting parishes and community groups to design their own Community Nature Recovery Plans.
A Community Nature Recovery Plan is a locally created blueprint that sets out priorities for improving nature and wildlife at a parish level. These plans help communities to shape a vision for nature locally and identify steps to bring about the changes. The plans will support the wider goals of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS).
Key actions include:
- Restoring habitats
- Creating nature corridors and stepping-stones for wildlife
- Increasing areas managed for wildlife.
These improvements benefit both nature and communities, helping reduce flood risk, support climate resilience, and enabling more people to enjoy time outdoors.
Through a series of workshops, communities explore what makes their local area special, share learning from similar habitats, identify potential projects, and collaborate to make them a reality.
As part of the project, all Cambridgeshire Parishes will have free access to the online mapping software Parish Online until March 2027. This will allow parish councils and community groups acting on their behalf to map out proposed projects relative to LNRS priorities, explore cross parish projects, and contribute to collaborative maps (e.g. showing swift boxes across the county).
Cllr Ros Hathorn, Chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Environment and Green Investment Committee, said: “This is a great opportunity for people in Cambridgeshire to come together and make a real difference. The collective enthusiasm and local knowledge of our residents can help transform our county and bring us closer to a greener, more sustainable Cambridgeshire. I really would encourage everyone to get involved if they can.”
The ‘Nature Recovery - From the Ground Up’ project will make a key contribution to the Council’s recently launched Climate Change & Environment Strategy 2026–2028, which sets out how it will reduce carbon emissions, strengthen climate resilience, and support nature to recover across Cambridgeshire.
Cambridgeshire is one of the counties with the least nature-rich land in England, and the LNRS sets out an ambitious plan to “double nature” locally expanding nature‑rich land from 8% to the national average of 16%.
The first phase of the NR‑FGU project runs from July 2025 to March 2027, focusing on Cambridge City and 20 parishes across East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Huntingdonshire, and South Cambridgeshire. Other parishes are invited to use the project resources and mapping software and register interest for future phases of the project. The project is funded by Cambridgeshire County Council’s Just Transition Fund and is delivered in partnership with Natural Cambridgeshire.
Whether you’re a community organiser, ecologist, photographer, bird‑spotter, or you’re just passionate about your local area, you can contribute by offering practical outdoor skills, local wildlife knowledge, mapping or creative experience, or simply your time, enthusiasm, and knowledge of your parish.
To learn more about Nature Recovery - From the Ground Up or to offer your skills, visit:
Nature Recovery - From the Ground Up | Cambridgeshire County Council
