Reflections from a Landscape Recovery pilot
Rewilding Landscapes Manager, Lorienne Whittle, peering through one of the land drains that are being removed from the wildland
by Lorienne Whittle
In June 2025, Nattergal signed the first ever Landscape Recovery Implementation Agreement with Defra. This private/public partnership will support Nature recovery and community benefits at Boothby Wildland until 2055. As one of the 22 pilots in the first round of Development Phase projects onboarded in early 2023, progress onto this next phase paves the way for others undertaking Landscape Recovery (LR).
‘‘Is it worth it?’’
A pioneering scheme requiring two years of co-design before mapping out 30 years of plans – being a Landscape Recovery pilot at Boothby Wildland has not been without its challenges. As the first project through the Development Phase and into Implementation, we’re being asked lots of questions about our experience, ‘the Plans’, the intricate wrangling of blended finance and, ultimately, whether it’s all worthwhile.
In short - absolutely.
Below we discuss the opportunities LR has brought to Boothby, aiding the development of a holistic, sustainable Nature recovery project in southern Lincolnshire, and why we consider the scheme to be truly ground-breaking.
The Lawton Report in action
Published in 2010, the Government commissioned an independent review of wildlife sites across England. The Lawton report has been since summarised many times over through the mantra of ‘‘Bigger, better, more joined up’’
The critical next step has been translating the Lawton principles into something tangible on the ground, literally ‘Making Space for Nature’, with Government schemes being a notable player in actualising the mantra. Moreover, how to create a fair, scalable, central Defra support mechanism when, to maximise impact, local level actions would be bespoke.
As an Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS), Landscape Recovery is ground-breaking in its methods and ambition: It recognises that Nature recovery needs scale, quality and connectivity, but enables plans to be co-designed by land owners and managers, most often as a localised cluster. Critically, these plans are not only underpinned by robust science but are site-specific, having been developed by those who know the land.
The Landscape Recovery Development Phase provides a mechanism by which land owners and managers can reimagine the future, bespoke for their land, as well as the critical funding to support it. Successful completion of this phase can lead to the delivery of plans through the long-term support of the Implementation Phase. Whilst there is a minimum area requirement for each LR project (broadly contiguous 500ha for Round 2 projects), working with neighbours allows each project partner to consider the parts of their land holding which would be best suited for long-term Nature recovery support. There is no commitment to continue beyond the development phase at partner or project level. The core-strength of LR is in this approach, but innovation at this level requires hard work and partnership.
Distinguishing it from the more generic, time-bound prescriptions in the other tiers of ELMS (Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship), a key part of the excitement around LR is that it offers projects successfully completing the Development Phase the opportunity to lock in over 20 years of Defra support. Nature can spring back surprisingly quickly when given space and protection. However, time is also critical for both Nature recovery and project sustainability.
As a single entity project and a company founded to drive investment into Nature, Nattergal was well set up to deliver Landscape Recovery at Boothby. With high ambition to move through the Development Phase quickly, as the ‘pilot of the pilots’ in the scheme, Boothby forged the way in many respects.
Hen Harrier at Boothby Wildland by Jonathan Perugia for Nattergal
What does the Development Phase entail?
The Round 1 and 2 Landscape Recovery pilots are required to submit six Plans – the ‘project deliverables’ – in the Project Development Phase (PDP) :
Project Management and Governance
Stakeholder Engagement
Site Access
Monitoring and Evaluation
Blended Finance – now called ‘Business Plan’
Land Management Plan
Working through the first five deliverables culminates in the Land Management Plan – pulling together the What, Where, Who, How and Why bespoke to each project.
So far, the Development Phase has provided two years of funding – notably with the Round 2 projects having to submit all Plans within the two-year deadline. In theory this should give projects time to develop, conduct and analyse the baseline monitoring, then input this and other considerations into the Land Management Plan. Projects in the Development Phase should consider the seasonal timings of surveys: given that the main ecological survey months are March – September, fitting this period into the middle of your Development Phase, or earlier, would be ideal. The implications of a shifting timeframe, for example as the result of a late agreement signing, can have a significant impact on the creation of a robust baseline.
For all six plans loose templates are provided, giving guidance on generic areas to cover and questions to answer. There are also requirements for the inclusion of standard project management tools such as a Theory of Change and a Risk Register. During the Round 1 pilots, more definitive guidance for the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan was developed, meaning future projects will have a structured framework for reporting. The Development Phase requires the reporting of the baseline – developed by the team to fit the land and the plans. This not only includes habitat and wildlife population figures, but also social and financial metrics. Throughout our Development Phase we submitted reports on progress and financial claims every three months, moving to a more dynamic system for both capital and operational costs during the Implementation Phase.
Frequently asked questions are ‘How long did it take you?’ and ‘How many words did you write?’.
Given the bespoke nature of Landscape Recovery, these are difficult to answer in a meaningful way. Plans were written, at least in outline, concurrently with undertaking the baseline – necessary for the Boothby project given that we submitted our plans in 16 months. As a single entity project this was easier, but did require significant input from across a large team, with the final word count nearing six figures. Mapping skills, using both LandApp and QGIS for our plans, were also an important part of the submissions.
Utilising expertise within the team, Nattergal is one of a few projects to have written the LR plans in house. This is not necessary though – many other projects have outsourced whole plans, or specialised areas, such as the legal side of the agreements. The Blended Finance – or Business Plan - is commonly produced with the help of a consultancy to ensure the critical financing is securely underpinning the delivery proposals. Over the past few years certain consultancies have specialised in working with LR projects, so whilst Defra will not make supplier recommendations, there is now a Landscape Recovery community who can help advise.
If you are contemplating a Development Phase bid, consider the time that will be involved from across the whole team (for example the supporting services within an eNGO). It is worth mapping and documenting this at the beginning. We included elements of co-funding in our LR bid both at Development and Implementation stages. The recruitment for different projects in the first few rounds included not only a Project Manager as standard, but varied roles including Community and Engagement Officers, Research Assistants and Data Scientists. Contractor management is a key part of a successful Development Phase delivery and quality assurance will take place. Consider costing in professionals for ecological surveys. Being prescriptive about their reporting and using standardised methods, where appropriate, will also help when considering Implementation targets.
‘Rough & Loose’ intervention at Boothby Wildland
Stop press: it’s not all about Nature!
Whilst Nature is the focus of LR, two of the six LR plans direct specific focus on the benefits for local people; the Site Access and Stakeholder Engagement Plans. Through our Development Phase funding we commissioned a report on Stakeholder Engagement Best Practice in Landscape-Scale Nature Recovery Projects. This uses Boothby as the case study but with principles applicable to any Nature restoration project and now forms our best practice stakeholder work across all Nattergal sites.
Landscape Recovery has enabled us to dream big, with wider benefits to society as a result: access paths increased by over a third, co-design with the local community, secure jobs for twice as many on the Boothby team, the production of meat from our free-roaming herbivores, a future of continued volunteering, community events, and the development of educational offerings. For example, Landscape Recovery will support the employment of an Education Officer at Boothby over the next 30 years, building facilities such as ponds with dipping platforms; a bursary for local school groups and creation as well as maintenance of the access infrastructure, including an accessible path on the site.
Through LR we have been guided to consider heritage assets at Boothby, resulting in bespoke plans for the ongoing management of our Scheduled Ancient Monument. Including a review of heritage features in the Development Phase, for example in the form of a Desk Based Assessment, is a recommendation for those looking to the next round of Landscape Recovery. Early consultation on so many aspects of the projects has significantly helped shape the Implementation plans. We continue to follow the best practice guidelines, with ongoing input being encouraged through a variety of formal and informal methods.
Stakeholder engagement undeniably takes time and capacity – it’s hard work but we consider it integral. With Landscape Recovery support on this part of the project, the social benefits are amplified and, ultimately, the project more cohesive, celebrated and therefore more sustainable.
Moving on to Implementation: a partnership approach
Landscape Recovery is pioneering in many ways, not least its drive for projects to secure private finance for the Nature recovery at the heart of the scheme. Much aligned, Nattergal’s mission is to drive investment into Nature, harnessing the power of private finance to scale restoration. Hence it was never the goal for Nature recovery at Boothby to be funded solely through Landscape Recovery.
Defra have been clear that the Development Phase is just that – support to identify and secure private finance for large-scale, long-term Nature recovery. Being in a good position to do this by the end of this funded development phase is critical to going on to Implementation, as is the ability to show value for money and how the differing funding mechanisms stack together without causing additionality issues.
For Nattergal the timing and ambitions of LR perfectly complemented our vision for developing Boothby Wildland. As our first site we’ve learnt so much, and this has been maximised through the LR process and taken forward to developing subsequent sites. The co-design nature of the scheme and working in partnership has been critical to the success. Landscape Recovery projects can receive support not only from Defra, but also Natural England, the Environment Agency and UKCEH - for us this has added such strength to developing plans.
In truth, coming to decisions on what is best for the land was the easier part of Landscape Recovery. Co-design elements with the community can be challenging but are perfectly possible with the will and capacity. The crux of making the project a success is securing the private financing to support this work. A key part of the LR process, focus here was critical and achieved through the construction of a solid Business Plan.
At Boothby we’ve forged partnerships not only with Defra, but the corporate supporters who are an integral part of the future of this land. Mechanisms such as Biodiversity Net Gain and nature-based Charismatic Carbon sales can, and should, sit alongside LR funding to provide long-term, secure funding. Exemplifying this is our partnership with Arup, who committed to restoring over one-tenth of the Boothby landholding to secure 10,000 tCO2e of high-quality carbon removal credits over the next 30 years. It has been working at field level and the minute detail, from considering what the land wants and needs to how we can align different funding mechanisms, ensuring no risk of double funding, that has enabled this vision to become a reality at Boothby.
Furthermore, we’ve seen a drive from supporters for more than merely a transactional relationship – a move towards ongoing partnerships in the full sense. This aligns with our value ‘‘Collaboration multiplies impact’’. Yet we are clear that private funding complements our site plans – critically underpinning the Nature recovery vision, but is not the ‘tail that wags the dog’. This helps ensure our ‘Nature-first’ principle. Layered with Landscape Recovery support on elements currently harder to support through Natural Capital funding, this collaborative model utilises the power of partnerships to enable a Gold Standard project.
Communities Coordinator, Lizzie Lemon, runs volunteering sessions at Boothby Wildland
A future of collaboration: Making Space for Nature
With our retreat from the European Union, the UK withdrew from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). CAP defined the farming subsidy system for years and the move provided Defra with an opportunity to look afresh at how land management was supported in England. With the first Round 1 pilot projects now moving through to long-term Implementation and a Round 3 hopefully on the horizon, by mapping these projects you can begin to see how Landscape Recovery is enabling space for Nature, alongside other land uses including the important production of food, across England.
You can read more about the first two projects to move into Implementation Phase in this Defra blog.
Meanwhile I look down at the saplings springing up across Boothby, knowing that natural processes will shape this Wildland for years to come – beyond recognition from the intensive monoculture crop of three years ago. None of this would be possible without the public/private financing. Nature can do the heavy lifting, but through Landscape Recovery and a partnership approach we’ve created holistic plans which go even further, maximising the benefits for wildlife, people and planet.
