Urban Greening for Surrey Nature Recovery
Harm to nature and wildlife is the no.1 concern over the impact of climate change. We're piloting green-blue infrastructure engagement to reverse Surrey's nature loss
What Is 'Urban Greening'?
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It might not be apparent as you bask in the wonderful leafiness of Surrey, but 11% of our native species been declared extinct over the last 30 years! This is one of many shocking statistics from The State of Nature Report, but perhaps the standout figure is that over 30% of Surrey's species are classed as 'rapidly declining' - and that's not just obscure plants you've not hear of, it includes hedgehogs, bats and pollinators.
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Read on to find out how you can play your part in reversing this decline and restore local nature whether you're a resident or a business.
We're the most wooded county in the UK (at least as of the 2014 aerial mapping), but despite this fact, our biodiversity-loss rate is higher than the national average.
There are several reasons for the accelerating nature crisis globally and locally: warming average temperatures disrupt seasonal patterns in plant and animal life; destruction of habitats for monoculture crops; and - the issue that urban greening helps to address - fracturing of habitats by the expanding sprawl of urban areas.
Working with partners across the county we aim to address that third issue to reverse the loss of Surrey’s wildlife. You can visibly see the issue from the map below, with the blue areas representing the local Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the pink areas ancient woodland. Both habitats are divided in half by Guildford town centre
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Using strategically mapped green corridors through our town centres, or 'Urban Biodiversity Opportunity Areas (URBOAs)' we hope to reconnect Surrey’s habitats by creating biodiversity corridors across our urban areas.
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The green corridors have been mapped by Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT), and along with Surrey County Council and delivery partners such as Global Centre for Clean Air Research, this project will support urban greening interventions across Surrey's built-up areas.
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With delivery partners, we've been piloting an engagement approach across the Guildford 'URBOA', with the goal of understanding the challenges whilst delivering interventions which green up our urban spaces to help reconnect fractured habitats.
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