RESTORING SURREY’S Nature

5 year strategic summary 2018-23 Securing the future of Surrey’s wildlife

Surrey Wildlife Trust was founded with a simple but vital objective: to protect and nurture wildlife. As biodiversity continues to decline across the UK, our mission remains the same. However, the evidence shows that we need to change the way we approach it.

Looking beyond our boundaries

There’s no doubt that the 80 reserves we manage are safe havens for nature. Thanks to our conservation work, 98% of them are now in ‘favourable or recovering’ condition (compared with 62% in 2002). However, they only cover 5% of the county and are fast becoming oases of healthy habitat in a steadily degrading natural landscape. The sad fact is that one third of Surrey’s wildlife species are either extinct or heading that way. Work in partnership So what do we do? We will start by continuing to manage our existing reserves to the high standard we have set, but we simply don’t have the funds or resources to take direct responsibility for a significantly larger area. Therefore, we must cooperate with other land owners and managers to spread good conservation principles and practice. This means helping them to restore more habitats and to create green corridors between nature reserves that enable species to move and flourish more widely. It also means working with local people and inspiring them to value and protect nature. Together we aim to create what is known as a ‘living landscape’. © Tom Marshall © Jon Hawkins

Working in partnership, we will be focusing on 3 key areas of the county to maximise our impact on the ground. These are called ‘Biodiversity Opportunity Areas’ or (BOAs).

Staines-upon-Thames River Thames A320 A30 M3 Sunbury

River Wey A30 Weybridge River MoleEsher M3 M25 Epsom Chobham A3 A320 A245 Cobham Camberley A24 Woking River Wey Warlingham

Leatherhead M25 A217 Caterham

A3 M25 A25 A246 Godstone A323 Oxted Guildford A31 River Mole Reigate Redhill Dorking

A23 A25 M23 A22 Farnham River Wey Peaslake A24

A287 Horley

Godalming A281

A3 A29

A283 Cranleigh

Haslemere Thames Basin Heaths The North Downs Stay focused Holmesdale wetlands We can’t affect every single piece of land in Surrey, so over the next five years we will focus on the three areas on the map above. We will be working with a range of partners, from councils to government, from private land owners to householders, setting specific targets for preserving and creating suitable natural habitats in each area. These will require us to carry out a range of activities, such as laying hedgerows, creating reedbeds or restoring heathland. For example, across the three sites we will restore 120 hectares of habitats and four miles of hedgerow. Do what works A holistic approach has already been successful. For example, over the last five years we have been a major participant in Surrey’s two ‘river catchment partnerships’. These have enabled different land managers to collaborate on restoring large sections of the Wey and Mole rivers. We have also helped achieve net gains for wildlife in development and construction projects. © Andy © Andy Rouse/2020VISION Next steps

We hope that in five years’ time we will have established a robust process in each location, so we are able to shift our focus to other parts of the county. As ever, our work on the ground will be backed by serious research and monitoring activity, to make sure that we can measure its impact. And we will continue to invest in educational programmes for children and adults, to help connect the people of Surrey more closely to nature.

Read more of our publications at surreywildlifetrust.org/publications

Surrey Wildlife Trust, School Lane, Pirbright, Woking, Surrey, GU24 0JN Email: [email protected] Tel: 01483 795440

Cover image: David Tipling/2020VISION Registered Charity Number 208123