Since Wild Oxfordshire's inception as the Oxfordshire Nature Conservation Forum over 30 years ago, we have always had the core purpose of bringing people together for nature. Unlike many nature organisations, Wild Oxfordshire owns and manages no land in the county, so forming partnerships is truly essential to our work. As a charity, we cannot achieve our vision of bringing about nature’s recovery without partnership working across all scales –from a local resident making a hedgehog highway after following our best practice advice, to a landowner creating new wetlands on a landscape scale through our Evenlode catchment work, it all adds to the bigger picture.
An essential part of effective working is knowledge-exchange and networking. This is currently achieved by a variety of formal and informal groups, partnerships, and networks which we chair, host, or contribute towards, in addition to sharing inspiring stories via our monthly email Bulletin, social media platforms, films, and website guidance.
We have worked closely with Oxfordshire County Council on developing the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Oxfordshire; the big plan for nature which sets out what we need to do, and where to achieve nature recovery. We have been championing an inclusive and collaborative approach to the delivery of the LNRS, in addition to focussing on funding for delivery with the LNP Nature Finance Group.
Achieving nature recovery is a big job, and we need everyone on board! People-centred conservation is more effective, and more equitable.
“if we respect each other's perspectives and intentions more, and recognise that conservation is, and should be, a broad church, maybe we will make more progress... Conservation needs, more than ever, to be both united and diverse.”
By bringing everyone together, we can achieve nature recovery in Oxfordshire.
We bring together all those working and volunteering for nature within strategic partnerships including the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership; landscape partnerships such as Curlew, Yellow Wagtail and Evenlode Catchment; and across our community work –Community Ecology, Hedgerow Heroes and Wild Kidlington. These partnerships have a strong ecological focus, matched by an equally strong commitment to ensure that people join us for the journey. We proactively encourage organisations to work collaboratively, the advantages of which was highlighted by The National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
“Larger organisations often have more financial resources and a brand recognition that can open doors. Smaller organisations can be more nimble and can often move more quickly. Recognising the role and value in these different characteristics will reduce the risk of negative power imbalances, and create stronger services for communities.”
The Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership is an organisation of key partners that aims to radically enhance nature, its positive impact on our climate, and the priority it’s given, helping to make Oxfordshire a county where people and nature thrive.
“Larger organisations often have more financial resources and a brand recognition that can open doors. Smaller organisations can be more nimble and can often move more quickly. Recognising the role and value in these different characteristics will reduce the risk of negative power imbalances, and create stronger services for communities.”
The Oxfordshire Environment Board (OxEB) is an alliance of the county’s environmental organisations, focusing on a green recovery for the county. The board is a strong and united voice for Oxfordshire’s natural environment to inform and influence decision-makers across Oxfordshire to ensure the natural environment is being taken into account fully in all strategic plans.
The Healthy Ecosystem Recovery Oxfordshire (HERO) explores how Oxford University can play a role in efforts to restore healthy ecosystems in Oxfordshire, by bringing the university’s strengths in academic knowledge, research capacity and convening power to support ongoing and planned nature recovery activities by a range of local partners and stakeholders.
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The Biodiversity Advisory Group, facilitated by Wild Oxfordshire, seeks to enable coordinated delivery of Nature’s Recovery in Oxfordshire by maximising the positive impact of those working in the environmental sector by sharing knowledge and expertise. The group provides a forum for professionals, from a variety of organisations, with significant specialist knowledge of various aspects of biodiversity policy, strategy and delivery. The group also provides expert advice and guidance externally on the development of strategic plans for Oxfordshire’s Biodiversity (e.g. State of Nature, Conservation Target Areas & Nature Recovery Strategy). The Biodiversity Advisory Group comprises of experts drawn from a variety of organisations who all have significant specialist knowledge of various aspects of biodiversity policy, strategy and delivery.
Wild Oxfordshire’s excellently delivered role in co-ordinating the OxBAG group (and the CTAs/CTA Leads group and lots of other networking roles/other roles) is very much appreciated by us here at BBOWT - BBOWT
The partnerships we host such as the Evenlode Catchment Partnership always have a strong ecological focus, but this is matched by an equally strong commitment to ensuring that people join us for the journey as highlighted by Alexandre Chausson “Understanding Nature-based Solutions as a dynamic partnership between people and nature, is crucial to deliver resilient actions that work for people and nature.’
A way of working together on a Catchment scale to improve the water environment for wildlife and people.
In Oxfordshire we have:
Evenlode Catchment Partnership Hosted by Wild Oxfordshire)
Thame Catchment Partnership - Hosted by Freshwater Habitats Trust & Thame Conservation Trust)
Windrush Catchment Partnership - Hosted by Cotswolds Rivers Trust
Cherwell & Ray Catchment Partnership - Hosted by BBOWT & Thames 21
Ock Catchment Partnership - Hosted by Freshwater Habitats Trust)
South Chilterns Catchment Partnership - Hosted by Thames 21
Farmer clusters are local groups led by farmers for farmers. Assisted by an advisor of 'facilitator’, farmer clusters empower farmers and landowners to work together and deliver landscape scale conservation projects benefiting soil, water, and wildlife. They also act as a support system for farmers and land managers by giving guidance and advice and enabling knowledge from shared experiences to be exchanged.
Several farmer clusters have been set up around Oxfordshire, including the Ridgeway Cluster and Clumps Cluster, which we host.
For more information on Farmer Clusters and how you could get involved visit https://www.farmerclusters.com/
We bring together conservationists working in the Conservation Target Areas to share best practice and support one another. Our collective aim is the creation of more wild spaces, bigger areas for landscape-scale conservation, better management of current reserves and joined and interconnected wildlife areas.
Our Community Ecology Programme has a particular focus on community nature groups and parish and town councils, and we believe that communities have a key role to play in nature’s recovery. The authors of the paper ‘A call for collective crisis leadership’ stated “All individuals in a society can be leaders and bring about change, by listening, building capacity, and enabling and empowering others.”
We work closely with other organisations supporting communities including Community First Oxfordshire, Community Action Groups, CPRE, Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment, BBOWT, District & City Councils and Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre.
Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment (TOE) are Oxfordshire’s independent environmental funder. They enable people to restore nature and connect with Oxfordshire’s wild side. Their Local Environment Fund raises money and allocates grants for local projects that benefit wildlife and promote access to green spaces. They work with developers and landowners to administer Biodiversity Net Gain funds, ensuring that responsible development results in more biodiversity in our county, not less.
TOE acts as both fundraiser and grant maker. This makes it easy for a wide range of donors to connect with many of the best local projects in need of financial support.
Wild Oxfordshire highlight funding opportunities in our monthly email Environmental Bulletin.
Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC) collect, analyse, and share geodiversity and biodiversity information in Berkshire and Oxfordshire to help people make sound decisions about how to develop and manage land sustainably and where to direct wildlife conservation work.
TVERC also hold an annual Wildlife and Recording Conference which is a chance for the environmental recording community to come together to enjoy and share updates of projects, survey initiatives and information on what they are doing.
The University of Oxford Environmental Change Institute, and HERO Partnership brings the university’s strengths in academic knowledge, research capacity and convening power to support data analysis and presentation in Oxfordshire.
cs will reduce the risk of negative power imbalances, and create stronger services for communities.”
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