Nature Recovery Symposium

The Nature Symposium in Oxford at the end of March was an opportunity for people from relevant Governance organisations, academia, charities and private companies, working in the realms of nature and landscape, to come together and discuss the movement towards nature recovery in the UK. As well as talks and panels there were several long, structured workshops that created opportunities for sharing of ideas, experiences, views, advice and offers of help. Often, we broke up into sub-groups and shared with the larger group – information that was then synthesised and shared with the whole symposium. This created a diversity and breadth of feedback overall.

Topics focussed on questions around what further research is needed, how to share and communicate the existing research, and datasets and approaches used for fieldwork and modelling land-use change. Biodiversity Net Gain was widely discussed, along with soil health, survey methods (including audio, eDNA, photography, wildlife surveys including birds and invertebrates, soil surveys), communication methods, collaborations, “Proof By Underpants”, Natural capital, interactions of different mechanisms, Biodiversity Action Plans, local records centres, the availability of data, and regenerative agriculture. Farmers brought their views and needs to the table, and academics and policymakers listened and offered suggestions. Many different tools and plans were shared, and we realised many times that the information we needed was already available. Altogether, we were left feeling inspired and hopeful, in the knowledge that only small changes would be needed to make a large difference.

The main takeaways for me were the stories shared and the connections created - which are ultimately the sources of inspiration and action, respectively. If we can bring these into the work that follows on from the meeting, a great deal can come from it.