A practical, stepped guide for Town & Parish Councils and communities
1. ️Check: Do you have a Biodiversity Policy?
Difficulty: 🟢 Easy
Confirm whether your Town or Parish Council has a formal biodiversity policy.
If not, adopt or adapt a model policy. If yes, review and strengthen it.
A policy:
demonstrates compliance with the biodiversity duty
gives officers and councillors a mandate to act
supports funding bids and partnerships
Table the policy at Full Council
Assign a biodiversity lead councillor
Commit to a 5-year review cycle
2. Understand Your Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS)
Difficulty: 🟢 Easy
Review your Local Nature Recovery Strategy and identify how your parish fits into wider priorities.
LNRSs set out:
priority habitats and species
where nature recovery will have the biggest impact
how local action contributes to county-scale outcomes
Contact your LNRS partnership
Ask: “What role could our parish play?”
Align future projects to LNRS priorities
3. Establish a Baseline: Conduct a Biodiversity Audit
Difficulty: 🟡 Medium
Measure what you have now - habitats, species, land use, management practices. If you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it!
Repeat audits every 3–5 years
Use baseline to prioritise action
4. Find Your Allies: Build a Local Nature Network
Difficulty: 🟢 Easy
Tags: #Partnerships #Community
Connect with organizations already working on nature recovery.
Convene a quarterly “nature round table”
Co-design projects rather than duplicating effort
5. Map Opportunities and Wildlife Corridors
Difficulty: 🟡 Medium
Map:
road verges and footpaths
churchyards and cemeteries
private land where cooperation is possible
Nature thrives when habitats are connected, not isolated.
Simple GIS or mapping tools
Parish-level “opportunity maps”
Identify priority corridors
Align verge, hedge, and planting schemes
Share maps with neighbouring parishes
6. Learn from Others: Use Proven Guides & Workbooks
Difficulty: 🟢 Easy
Recommended guides
Avoid reinventing the wheel
Share learning regionally
7. Secure Land for Nature: Community Land Trusts (CLTs)
Difficulty: 🔴 Hard
Establish or partner with a Community Land Trust to own and manage land for biodiversity.
Funding options
Community Municipal Investment Bonds
Grant funding and blended finance
Revenue options
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) credits
Environmental Land Management schemes (e.g. SFI, Countryside Stewardship)
Carbon credits (where appropriate)
Large-scale delivery partners:
Legal and governance advice
Community engagement from day one
8. Quick Wins: Change Everyday Management Practices
Difficulty: 🟢 Easy
Stop using pesticides and herbicides where possible
Manage verges, churchyards, and greenspaces for wildlife
Campaign inspiration
These actions are:
immediately beneficial to pollinators
Update grounds maintenance contracts
Explain changes clearly to residents
Use signage to build public support
9. Use Statutory Biodiversity Metrics Properly
Difficulty: 🟡 Medium
Understand and apply official biodiversity metric tools where required.
Supports planning decisions
Ensures transparency and accountability
Train councillors and clerks
Use metrics proportionately
Combine with local knowledge and citizen science
