Parish and Town Council Nature Recovery Resources
Nature Recovery Workbook for Ryedale and North Yorkshire Parishes
Provides practical guidance, local resources and ideas to help town and parish councils plan and deliver nature recovery in their communities, informed by North Yorkshire’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS). This version is an editeable pdf. allowing councils to adapt the workbook to their local priorities and needs. Please contact us if you would like a physical copy which we can send in the post.
Conference Presentations
Explore presentations from the Restoring Nature conferences, featuring practical advice, local case studies and examples of nature recovery initiatives covering topics such as hedgerows, wildlife corridors, wetlands, wildflower verges, dark skies and community-led biodiversity projects.
Shared Resources from Shropshire
Our booklet was inspired by the workbook created by Janet Cobb. These are shared resources from Janet and the different projects and groups she is involved in. Their websites are brimming with useful information and links:
Middle Marches Community Land Trust
Supports community-led land management and nature recovery, providing an example of how local communities can work together to protect and enhance their natural environment.
Promotes the conservation and restoration of species-rich grasslands across the Marches, offering inspiration for local meadow management and wildflower conservation projects.
Restoring Shropshire’s Verges Project
Provides guidance and examples of roadside verge restoration to encourage wildflowers, support pollinators and improve habitat connectivity.
Wild About Devon – Community Toolkit
Offers practical guidance and useful links for community nature recovery, including biodiversity surveys and advice on how to carry them out. This resource was designed for Devon, so some information may not be directly applicable to North Yorkshire, and the team cannot advise on areas outside Devon; however, it contains many helpful resources and ideas.
The Five Pillars of a Parish Biodiversity Plan
Provides biodiversity advice for local councils, including guidance on the five pillars of a parish biodiversity plan and practical ways councils can support nature recovery.
Natural History Museum – Nature Recording Hub
Provides information and resources to help people record and monitor wildlife, discover opportunities to contribute to biodiversity research, and learn how nature observations can support conservation.
A Ride for Life
Promotes nature recovery and environmental awareness through cycling, encouraging people to take action to protect and restore the natural world.
The following links are organised by section to match the Nature Recovery Workbook, making it easy to find relevant resources and guidance for each topic.
Section 1 – Introduction
Why nature recovery matters, the LNRS, and the role of parish and town councils.
North Yorkshire and York Local Nature Recovery Strategy
The official strategy documents, including the non-technical summary, detailed strategy, biodiversity priorities and
measures, and Local Habitat Map.
Defra – Local Nature Recovery Strategies
Explains the purpose of LNRSs, their statutory components, and how they identify opportunities to create, restore and
connect habitats.
Convention on Biological Diversity – Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
The international context for the 30 by 30 target and the wider ambition to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
Section 1.3 – The role of parish and town councils
Local Nature Recovery Strategies
Explains the relationship between LNRSs and the biodiversity duty.
Biodiversity Net Gain
Useful for understanding how nature recovery priorities intersect with planning and development.
The National Association of Local Councils (NALC)
A useful starting point for parish and town council guidance, including local governance and community action.
Section 2 – Know your Parish
Mapping habitats, establishing a biodiversity baseline, and community surveys.
North Yorkshire and York Local Habitat Map
The key local mapping tool. Use it to explore existing important nature sites and mapped opportunities for habitat recovery.
DEFRA – MAGIC Map
An essential tool for exploring environmental designations, priority habitats, protected sites and other spatial datasets.
iRecord
A platform similar to iNaturalist where residents can submit wildlife recordings which can be checked by experts.
NBN Atlas
Searchable biological records that can help establish what species have been recorded in and around a parish.
INNS Mapper
For reporting of management, sightings, and surveys of Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS)
iNaturalist
A practical platform for residents to submit wildlife observations, including photographs, dates and locations.
North & East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre (NEYEDC)
A particularly relevant regional source for biological records and ecological data searches.
Section 3. LNRS overarching priorities
North Yorkshire Council local nature recovery strategy
Section 4.1 Hedgerows & Wildlife Corridors
White Rose Forest
Provision of free support for the planning, funding and planting of new woodland creation projects of all sizes.
The Woodland Trust
The largest forest conservation charity in the UK.
Hedgelink – The UK Hedgerow Resource
A specialist starting point for hedgerow conservation, management, restoration and their value for wildlife.
Defra – Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026
The hedgerow management action explains how management can maintain varied heights and widths, and provide pollen, nectar, berries and wildlife habitat.
Section 4.2 Rivers, Becks, & Wetlands
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Protection of Yorkshires wildlife and wild spaces. The Derwent catchment partnership relies on citizen science to monitor the state of local riverways.
The Riverfly Partnership
The Riverfly Partnership supports projects that are designed to assess the health of the UK’s rivers. Volunteers are trained to become citizen scientists and join a team to monitor their local river.
Freshwater Habitats Trust
Freshwater Habitats Trust is the UK’s leading charity for all freshwaters.
Ryevitalise Landscape Partnership
A good local example. Explore the partnership’s work on the River Rye catchment, including river habitats, landscape management and community involvement.
WWT- the Wetland charity
Great information on how to create a pond for wildlife.
The Canal and River Trust
Protection of canals and rivers.
Defra – Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026
Includes buffer strips and habitat strips beside watercourses, with aims including wildlife habitat, connectivity and reducing the movement of pollutants into rivers.
Global Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
Provides information and resources relating to amphibian and reptile conservation, helping raise awareness of these species and the importance of protecting their habitats.
Section 4.3 Moorland & Peatland Recovery
North York Moors National Park
Ideas and current examples of nature recovery on moorlands.
CuraTerae
Project management and consultancy for achieving biodiversity net gain.
Moor to Restore – North York Moors National Park
The most directly relevant case study. The project surveyed peat depth and condition across 9,410 hectares of moorland and developed restoration plans.
Yorkshire Peat Partnership
A useful source for regional peatland restoration, practical conservation work and partnership projects.
IUCN UK Peatland Programme
Provides background on peatland condition, restoration and the role of peatlands in climate mitigation and biodiversity.
Section 4.4 Woodlands, Veteran Trees & Orchards
The White Rose Forest
A community Forest in Yorkshire. Their website offers ideas and practical tips on creating woodland.
Woodland Trust
A source of practical guidance on native trees, woodland creation, ancient woodland and veteran trees.
The Orchard Project
Community orchards case studies on gov.uk
The Orchard Project is the only national charity dedicated solely to creating, maintaining and celebrating community orchards.
The Woodland Trust – Deadwood
Useful ideas from the UK’s larges woodland charity.
The RSPB – build a dead hedge for wildlife
The importance of dead hedges from the RSPB.
The Tree Council
Advice on seed collection and tree growing and funding.
HM Government – community orchards a how to guide
Advice on starting a community orchard.
Forestry England
Advice on growing new woods and forests and protecting older trees.
Peoples Trust for Endangered Species
Advice on Improving existing traditional orchards.
Ancient Tree Forum
Section 4.5 Species-Rich Grasslands & Verges
Plantlife
A leading UK conservation organisation with practical resources on managing grassland and roadside verges for wild plants.
Buglife – B-Lines
A landscape-scale initiative to create and restore connected areas of wildflower-rich habitat for pollinators.
North York Moors National Park
Information on the Grubs Up! project creating a nature corridor on an edge of the national park via B-lines.
North York Moors Trust – birds on the edge
Birds on the Edge is a project dedicated to helping both nature and people thrive through conservation, education and recreation.
Ryedale Environment Group – Restoring Ryedale
Our own project to revive nature in Ryedale.
Section 4.6. Farming for Nature
North York Moors National Park – farming in protected landscapes
Advice on projects and how to fund them.
HM Government
Information on governmental grants
Help to improve water and air quality, and reduce flood risk on agricultural land.
The Farm Carbon Toolkit
Provision of tools and services to measure environmental impacts and run projects with farmers that inspire action on the ground.
YouTube Links
Section 4.7 Nature-Friendly Villages & Market Towns
RSPB – Swifts
Guidance on swift conservation, nest sites and how buildings and communities can support this declining summer visitor.
Swift Conservation
Advice and talks on swifts.
People’s Trust for Endangered Species – Hedgehogs
Useful resources on hedgehog conservation, gardens and improving habitat connectivity between residential areas.
North York Moors National Park
Connecting nature with mental health.
Village Green
Helping communities take practical, meaningful steps to respond to the climate crisis via local partnerships.
RHS – Wildlife Gardening
Practical advice for gardens, ponds, planting, wildlife habitats and making residential spaces more valuable for nature.
Buglife – B-Lines
A useful example of how small urban and village habitats can contribute to a larger network of pollinator-friendly spaces.
Section 5. Dark Skies & Light Pollution
North York Moors National Park
The most relevant local resource for dark skies, the International Dark Sky Reserve and the Dark Skies Friendly Communities initiative.
DarkSky International
Background on light pollution, responsible outdoor lighting and the importance of protecting natural darkness.
The Bat Conservation Trust
The Bat Conservation Trust supports local bat groups across the UK and over 5,000 members. This link provides lighting guidance.
North York Moors National Park
Work to create dark skies friendly communities with a case study.
Section 6.1 Building Community Nature Projects
National Lottery Community Fund
Potential funding opportunities for community-led environmental projects.
The Conservation Volunteers
Practical conservation volunteering, community green spaces and environmental improvement.
UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme
A structured citizen-science activity that is suitable for community participation.
Buglife
Resources and projects relating to invertebrates, pollinators and habitat connectivity.
Section 7.1 Creating a Parish Nature Recovery Plan
Example of ‘Community based Nature Recovery Plans’ from East Cambridgeshire.