'State of Nature Recovery' survey opens in Somerset
The survey is hoped to aid the local authority in meeting the needs of communities, farmers and businesses
Last updated 21st Jan 2024
Months after a 'state of nature' report showed there's much to do to help nature recover, you're being urged to have your say here in Somerset.
The Council has launched a consultation on the Local Nature Recovery Strategy which should help provide a single vision on which habitats need the most attention.
The survey is hoped to aid the local authority in meeting the needs of communities, farmers and businesses - as well as the natural world itself.
The work is funded by Defra and local authorities throughout England have been appointed to lead the work.
Somerset Council is developing the LNRS for Somerset in collaboration with the Somerset Local Nature Partnership.
Despite hosting some of the most spectacular habitats and wildlife in the UK, reports like the State of Nature release show that our natural environment faces urgent and significant challenges.
The Somerset Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) will provide a single vision for nature recovery in Somerset and set out local priorities and actions for restoring and creating habitats.
It will identify the locations most suitable for nature restoration, and the places where the recovery or enhancement of biodiversity could make a particular contribution to other environmental benefits such as carbon sequestration, flood regulation, and access to nature-rich spaces for health and wellbeing.
Councillor Dixie Darch, Somerset Council Lead Member for Environment and Climate Change, said: “This government-funded Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Somerset is a crucial lifeline for our nature that will determine priorities and actions to help safeguard and improve it for future generations.
"I encourage Somerset residents from all parts of the county, rural or urban, to join in and tell us how and where nature matters to them. Getting involved will help shape a greener more sustainable Somerset, and ensure this new strategy meets the needs of communities, farmers, businesses, and above all, our precious wildlife.”
Jamie Edmonds, treasurer for the Somerset Mammal Group, said: "Water voles are starting to increase, otters are thriving, beavers the same... dormice seem to be in decline, and then species that people are less familiar with, like yellow necked mice, seem to have disappeared from the area.
"There's a committee of volunteers that conduct surveys to help track the levels of nature in the region - and we'd encourage members of the public to get involved."
Find out more about the survey and how to take part in it here.