Making Space for Dartmoor’s Nature

When the Woodland Trust and National Trust pooled their resources in 2014 to take on 330 hectares of woodland in the Teign Valley to the east of Dartmoor, the guiding principle of how to tackle the landscape scale restoration of a Plantation on an Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS) had already been established in a White Paper published back in 2010. The “Making Space for Nature” report set out to review England’s wildlife and ecological network. Consulting with experts from across the ecological spectrum, the report asked the question “do England’s wildlife sites comprise a coherent and resilient ecological network?” It suggested that, “we need to embrace a new, restorative approach which rebuilds nature and creates a more resilient natural environment for the benefit of wildlife and ourselves”.

Written by Matt ParkinsPhotos – Paul Moody and Matt Parkins Reference: Making Space for Nature - A review of England’s Wildlife Sites and Ecological Network by Professor Sir John Lawton CBE FRS