Nature recovery
The term nature recovery refers to actions we need to take to protect, sustainably manage, improve and restore the natural environment.
Promoting nature’s recovery is a priority for the council and we have a responsibility to work together to protect and enhance the rich variety of species and habitats in our district, including those which have local, national, and international importance
The state of nature in South Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire’s State of Nature report provides us with a picture of the state of Oxfordshire’s natural habitats and species. It helps us prioritise landscape-wide initiatives such as the 15 Conservation Target Areas (CTAs) in South Oxfordshire where we can direct our efforts to make the biggest impact.
Each year the council publishes a Biodiversity Annual Monitoring Report which provides a snapshot of how some of our most important habitats and species are doing.
What are we doing to help biodiversity?
The council has been taking action on biodiversity, creating new wildlife habitats and boosting populations of species for many years. This has been achieved:
- By looking after land that we control
- By encouraging tree planting
- Managing areas of wildflower meadows (see below)
- By working in partnership with a wide variety of organisations
- Through the land use planning system
- By providing grants to local community organisations.
Our wildflower meadows
We also have several designated areas in South Oxfordshire that are our wildflower meadows where we only cut the grass three times during the year – at the beginning and end of the growing season in March and October, plus a cut and rake up in September once the wildflowers have set seed.
This helps to ensure that grass doesn’t dominate the area and gives wildflowers the chance to establish and grow. In some cases, we also plug plants or sow wildflower seeds to encourage a more diverse range of species.
If you click on following links you will be able to download the maps showing our wildflower areas for:
- Didcot – Hamble Road
- Didcot – Tamar Way
- Didcot – Trent Road
- Didcot – Wensum Drive
- Wallingford – Wallingford Cemetery
Oxfordshire’s Local Nature Partnership (LNP) brings together councils, universities, environmental organisations, farmers, business and landowners, and puts nature at the heart of decision-making to help our communities and nature to thrive. The LNP will support the creation of a new Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Oxfordshire, which is a requirement of the Environment Act 2021.
Contact us - Climate and Biodiversity Team
South Oxfordshire District Council
Abbey House
Abbey Close
Abingdon
OX14 3JE
