Geoff Booth’s Post

Nobody contests the value of deer and their vital role in the landscape. However, at high densities deer can negatively impact fragile peatlands and inhibit woodland regeneration, reducing biodiversity and impairing climate resilience. For decades, discussions about the management of deer have been characterised by low trust and entrenched opinions, with deer becoming a totem for conflict around wider changes in land use, but that could finally be changing. In the first in a series of films from SCOTLAND: The Big Picture's Fiadh project, we learn about the work of The Common Ground Forum, a network of stakeholders from the upland deer sector, who are committed to a more collaborative approach to deer management, based on mutual respect and consensus building. SBP is committed to building bridges across contested spaces, and encouraging a more solutions-focused conversation around Scotland’s deer. Watch the film: https://lnkd.in/e4cNYuZz #BuildingBridges #MakingRewildingHappen #GenerationRestoration #FindingCommonGround #Scotland Daniel Martin Eckhart Sophie Yeo Graeme Green Julie Stoneman Alan McDonnell Andrew Wallace Joanna Macrae OBE David Allison Linzi Seivwright Donald Rowantree Centre for Good relations CIC Alladale Wilderness Reserve Clovis Fletcher Andy Craig Jake Swindells Andrew Painting Kate Heightman Sarah Watts Tim Kirkwood William Hawes Deirdre Stewart David Hetherington Stewart Blair Ruaridh Macdonald Ruaridh (Ruari) Ormiston

We are celebrating #NationalTreeWeek by highlighting the importance of river woodlands! 🌳 River woodlands play a crucial role in supporting wild fish populations and their habitats by: - Providing shade to regulate water temperatures, crucial for species like Atlantic salmon. - Stabilising riverbanks, reducing erosion, and improving water quality. - Offering habitat and food sources for aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. - Enhancing resilience against climate impacts, including floods and droughts. Through the #Riverwoods Blueprint Project, we are working with our partners to deliver over 100 hectares of river woodland in the next four years and develop tools to design, fund, deliver, and monitor river woodland creation and restoration schemes at scale. Scottish Wildlife Trust 📷 SCOTLAND: The Big Picture

On #EarthDay, we're celebrating M&T Business Banking Customer Chesapeake Conservancy, a nonprofit organization based in Annapolis, Maryland. The Conservancy believes the Chesapeake is a national treasure that should be accessible to everyone and where wildlife can thrive. It uses technology to enhance the pace and quality of conservation and helps build parks, trails, and public access sites. “Habitat loss is the greatest threat to biodiversity in the United States. In the 25 years before establishing the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Protected Land goals, the watershed was losing tree canopy cover faster each year, and urban areas increased by 14%. Such habitat loss represents the primary threat to the sustainability of wildlife populations and the livelihoods and local economies that depend upon them. Without a sustainable relationship with protected lands, we will not have clean air, clean water, or abundant food to eat. Joint Chesapeake Bay watershed conservation initiatives have proven to be effective. Already, 22% of the lands have been protected, yet there is a long way to go. Chesapeake Conservancy has supported this effort through data science and global information systems (GIS) technology. Our team has mapped the entire watershed to 1 meter by 1 meter resolution and identified what is on the land and what it is being used for. These precision conservation tools allow governments to make informed policy decisions and increase efficiencies, telling us which lands would be the most beneficial to protect, why, and how. This technology is being deployed throughout the watershed, particularly with our teams and partners in Pennsylvania, to create healthy streams through sustainable methods and move them off the impaired streams list.” Learn more at: http://ms.spr.ly/6041YGPdL #earthmonth #sustainability #planetvsplastics

Crucial for local environments, communities and businesses, rewilding is the process of returning degraded natural habitats to a healthy wild state, undoing the damage from human interference and boosting the density and variety of plant, bird, insect and animal life. It is an urgent mission, acknowledged this June when the EU passed a law committing the bloc to restoring 20 per cent of its land and sea by the end of the 2020s – an ambitious and necessary target to mitigate climate catastrophe. From the prairies of Patagonia to the wilds of the Carpathian Mountains, here are eight of the most successful rewilding projects around the world that you can visit. https://buff.ly/3xQOD7u #Rewilding #ResponsibleTravel 

🌾The Midwest’s native prairie ecosystems are more than just vast stretches of flat, fertile grassland - they are home to a rich diversity of wildflowers and wildlife, thriving in moderate temperatures and rainfall. Unfortunately, these landscapes are disappearing due to development, putting countless species at risk. 🤝That’s why ITC is stepping up! In collaboration with local communities, state and national agencies, and conservation groups, we’re committed to protecting and restoring these endangered ecosystems. Our efforts have already made a positive impact on the Lakeplain Oak Openings region in Michigan and Ohio. Plus, we’ve launched three prairie restoration projects along transmission line corridors in Iowa, covering 42 acres. 🌱Together, we can make a difference! #EnvironmentalPartner https://ow.ly/Rbfg50TX8ZN

Look Ma, we're in the @statesman! The Hill Country Conservancy has secured a landmark $23.2 million federal grant to protect 8,200 acres of rural Texas Hill Country from development. This effort spans Hays, Kendall, Kerr, and Mason counties, conserving watersheds tied to key rivers like the Pedernales, Blanco, and Guadalupe. Through conservation easements, landowners retain the ability to use their land for ranching or recreation while ensuring it remains undeveloped for generations, safeguarding water resources, wildlife habitats, and the region’s scenic beauty. This initiative is vital as the Hill Country faces rapid urbanization, threatening aquifers, ecosystems, and iconic landscapes. By preserving these lands, the Conservancy protects endangered species like the golden-cheeked warbler and ensures the resilience of natural systems amidst climate change. Though private, these conserved lands benefit everyone by maintaining water supplies and the region's charm—offering “hilltops, not rooftops” for the future. Read on: https://lnkd.in/g3iq5Jsn #HereForever #Nature #Wildlife

In our work to tackle the interconnected crises of climate change and species extinction, beavers are a key player in that fight. By some, beavers are considered an environmental nuisance. However, their incredible ecological engineering skills make them some of Nature’s most efficacious practitioners of climate adaptation and resilience. Water management and drought and fire resistance are just two examples of crucial ecosystem benefits realized by just having beavers present. These effects are categorized as “low-tech process-based stream restoration as they are simple, cost-effective natural solutions to repair degraded riparian systems with little to no use of technology or external outputs. Beavers represent an accessible frontline-led and community-driven just transition opportunity very capable of resisting corporate-based tech heavy false solutions. I’m proud to be Executive Director of WildEarth Guardians in this moment as Christopher Smith, Guardians Wildlife Program Manager, helps lead the effort to bring beavers back to New Mexico. I’m excited to attend BeaverCon in order to share, learn and help build a global movement towards protecting and re-introducing our relative - the beaver. See you at BeaverCON! #beavers #wetlands #wildearthguardians #lowtechprocessbasedrestoration #climatechange #justtransition #movementbuilding #wildfireprevention #NMbeavers #beaverbelievers

A New Land Designation - "Wildbelt". The Wildlife Trust has published a report which identifies various approaches to development that can have positive impacts for nature, climate and communities. Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trust, says:   “The UK has agreed to protect at least 30% of land for nature by 2030, yet the latest calculations show we’re heading in the opposite direction... It’s not good enough just to protect the nature we’ve got left. We need to create new space for nature, which is why we’re calling for a new land designation, Wildbelt, to rebuild our natural infrastructure alongside built infrastructure. This could be a game-changer for UK nature recovery.”  Read the full report here⬇️ https://lnkd.in/dyvjdPCF #NatureRecovery #LandscapeDesign

See interesting post from Sally Smith

We are all signed up to 30 Days Wild with The Wildlife Trusts, starting tomorrow, 1st June. We have plenty of Wild Ideas as we embark on mobilising over £10 billion towards restoring Nature across the UK over the next decade. Join Rebalance Earth in sharing your Wild Ideas, Activites and Actions for #Nature. You can sign up here https://lnkd.in/eJUGbQq for free, for your home, your school, your care home, your business. Why not join your local Wildlife Trust for as little as £3 per month, to learn about Nature near you and support the dedicated teams helping Nature recover? Given the estimated £50-£100 billion required for Nature restoration in this period, we identify a significant opportunity to direct a portion of the £5 trillion in UK pension assets towards impactful investments in Nature. Specifically, a '2% for Nature' allocation could generate the necessary funds to redirect the flow of capital. Our 'Source to Sea' strategy takes a comprehensive landscape approach, engaging with public and private landowners to rejuvenate ecosystems from peatland springs to coastal waters. With a 15-year horizon, our fund is designed to deliver returns of 8% to 12% with impact mapped to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, e.g. climate change, life on land, life below water and sustainable cities and communities.   Our strategy aims to bridge the significant Nature deficit by expanding the demand side and enhancing the supply of nature-based solutions.    We see five key benefits of restoring Nature at a landscape scale:  • (1) reduced flooding,  • (2) reduced drought,  • (3) improved water quality,  • (4) increased biodiversity and ecosystem health and  • (5) carbon sequestration.    These five key benefits are paid for by the companies who benefit from them. By embracing Nature as a Service (NaaS), we target business challenges for companies facing specific localised Nature-related risks and opportunities, e.g. reduced flood risk to their assets, thereby unlocking wider opportunities for corporate investment in Nature. Robert Gardner Walid Al Saqqaf - Rebalance Earth Mark Scantlebury Ian Redmond