Waders on; measuring channel width, channel depth, water velocity and water quality.

The CNL team recently joined our colleagues Ros, Rowan, and Jen (who deliver all our Everyone’s Evenlode work) for a fun-filled practical day of training at Combe Mill. The Everyone’s Evenlode girls deliver sessions for all age groups – from primary school children to university students, all the way up to our volunteers. It’s essential they maintain their own skill set for training, and are able to make sure all participants are safe in and near the river. The recent day at Combe Mill gave colleagues first hand experience of the work the Everyone’s Evenlode team have been delivering for the last three years.

The group covered practical tips for outdoor working, health and safety, risk assessments, and group management. All the exercises were grounded in the practicalities of river work, so the team donned waders and did some river surveying, hydrology and flooding analysis, pond-dipping, a bio-diversity experiment, and a catchment tour taking in floodplain meadows, pond, woodland and a bird’s eye view over the river, with Geography subject-based games and experiments along the way; and a chance to have a go with the EM River table.

So far the Everyone’s Evenlode team have delivered river-based sessions to over 6,000 people – helping them get to know the river Evenlode better, understand the challenges it faces, learn more about river health and wildlife, and inspiring them to take action however and wherever they can.

It was great for the rest of the CNL team to experience the full Everyone’s Evenlode effect!

The team from Valpak during their outdoor volunteering day. 

Recently, we welcomed the fantastic team from Valpak along for an outdoor volunteering day!

Valpak employs around 300 people, and is based in Stratford-on-Avon. The organisation offers sustainability solutions to other businesses to help them reduce their impact on the planet. Each year, Valpak employees are given a day to volunteer; giving back to the community and local environment.

On Thursday 6 June a team from Valpak joined CNL on one of our new corporate volunteering days. The team were very enthusiastic and brought lots of energy! After morning tea and coffee, they took part in a reptile survey, before moving on to some woodland management, including building habitat piles and dead hedging. They removed ivy from tree trunks, worked to widen a footpath, and did a quick litter pick. And that was all before lunch! In the afternoon, the team enjoyed a wildlife walk, and devoted some time to pulling up Himalayan balsam.

If you’d like to find out more about corporate volunteering days, please contact James Webb, Partnership Lead, at james.webb@cotswolds-nl.org.uk

Andy Parsons, our Chief Executive, is moving on to an exciting new role later this year.

Since joining the CNL team in 2019, he has led both our people and our organisation with energy, optimism, determination, and a great sense of humour. We’re really going to miss him, and he’ll leave big boots to fill. Andy: congratulations on your new appointment, and thank you for everything. Your next team are lucky to have you.

Andy will be with us until November, and we will soon begin the process of recruiting someone new. If you fancy the challenge of taking the baton, and continuing the fantastic work Andy has set in motion with us, look out for recruitment details soon.

Three of our wardens working to install steps along a footpath. 

Our Cotswold Voluntary Wardens have set a new record for themselves in 2023-24: over 50,000 hours of volunteer work between them across their five districts in the Cotswolds. Come rain or shine, the wardens work all year round, and contribute a huge amount to the landscape. They work on maintaining the many thousands of miles of routes criss-crossing the Cotswolds: checking routes, replacing stiles, repairing foot bridges, clearing scrub, installing gates, fixing steps and installing hand rails, improving signage and waymarking, and litter picking. They plant trees, lay hedges, create habitats for nature, clear waterways, and work to repair our famous dry stone walls. They attend talks, shows and events to help spread the word about what they do, and about the Cotswolds National Landscape. And not forgetting – they lead hundreds of guided walks, for free, and open to everyone, almost every day of the year!

Let’s hear it for our fantastic troupe of loyal volunteer wardens!

Key numbers 2023/24:

• 51,351 hours of work
• 319 guided walks, attended by 3,634 people
• 7,867 miles of path patrolled
• 1,433 trees planted

Children in schools across Gloucestershire got involved in the Ourboretum project – collecting seeds, growing saplings, and planting them out within the community.

After 3.5 years of planning and delivery, the Ourboretum project has planted out its final saplings.

Beginning as an idea from Chris Sandys at BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Ourboretum was originally intended as a way to encourage communities to think about climate action, and Chris soon joined forces with our CNL team and our efforts to address ash dieback.

The project ambition was simple – to encourage people and communities to grow their own trees from seed, and to plant out the resulting saplings as a ‘virtual’ arboretum across Gloucestershire. And that we have!

Launched in the lockdowns of 2020, the project attracted around 180 participants during the first autumn season. These intrepid growers collected up acorns, beech mast, hazelnuts, then planted them, and nurtured them until they were saplings.

Key statistics from the project include:

• Total saplings handed over for planting = 1,096
• This included 963 oak saplings, 18 beech and 115 hazel
• This is from 84 different participants (groups, individuals, families etc)
• Almost 4,000 nuts were collected and potted up, predominantly acorns
• About 17 primary schools got involved

Some of the locations where Ourboretum saplings are happily growing include Elmore Court near Gloucester, Woodchester Mansion near Stroud, Cox’s Meadow in Cheltenham, Tewkesbury Nature Reserve, Hempsted Recycling Centre, Lydney Park Estate, St Catherine’s School in Chipping Campden and many many more.

Huge thanks to all those who took part – those who collected and grew seeds, those who created ‘holding nurseries’ for the saplings, those who volunteered places to plants the saplings out. This project will be a lasting legacy of community action right across Gloucestershire!

Our Everyone’s Evenlode team is to delighted to announce that a third Citizen Science Water Quality School has signed up to help monitor water quality in the Evenlode catchment area. These three schools are among the first in the country to get involved in the FreshWater Watch monitoring scheme as citizen scientists.

Combe Primary School will be joining Enstone Primary School, and Wychwood Primary School – whose pupils will be completing regular water quality monitoring of the river Evenlode and its tributaries. The schools use the FreshWater Watch app to upload the data they collect to a national database. Pupils will also run their own school assemblies about this work, to ensure they are sharing knowledge with their teachers and peers.

The Everyone’s Evenlode team is working with Evenlode Catchment Partnership colleagues from Earthwatch to provide training for all pupils involved, and their teachers – to ensure safety, and the continuation of the work into the future.

Participation has been led by the pupil eco-committees at each school, which are supported by teachers. In addition to the data collected, another great result of the work is that participating children are already inspiring their friends and family groups to sign up too.

Imagine the younger generations monitoring their own rivers, without relying on a handful of people from the Environment Agency and Thames Water trying to monitor all our waterbodies. This is what the sustainability and legacy of the Everyone’s Evenlode work looks like. This community involvement is vital to building a comprehensive data set about the health of our rivers, and to inspiring future generations to care for waterways and the surrounding wildlife – for the benefit of everyone.

The Caring for the Cotswolds Youth panel – 10 young people aged 13-25 – discussing applications.

In November, we invited a group of 10 young people to meet to form the 2023 Caring for the Cotswolds Youth Panel. The members of the Gloucestershire Youth Climate Group’s (GYCG) core group, and a couple of members of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s Youth Advisory Group, joined us to learn and gain experience of the grants process, and to take part in the assessment of local grants applications.

The collaboration between GYCG and Cotswolds National Landscape (CNL) meant that young people aged 16-25 were able to have their voices heard. They were tasked with reviewing each project application, scoring it, and providing any recommendations. Their review, scores and recommendations were then sent to the Grants Panel – consisting of CNL board members – for them to consider and help inform their decision.

We spoke to Tom Manders-Trett, a member of GYCG’s core group who attended the Youth Panel day, to learn a bit more about his experience.

Why did you want to take part in the Caring for the Cotswolds Youth Panel?

‘As a group committed to youth representation across all levels of environmental decision making, we hoped to provide a potentially new perspective on the available funding applications. When deadlines and quotas for environmental action are regularly missed at national and international levels, this panel was also a tangible opportunity for the group to positively contribute to local environmental projects and support sustainable, collaborative and creative ideas across the Cotswolds. Some members of the group were also already familiar with CNL’s ethos and felt that they were an organisation we wanted to work with, and this funding process was something we wanted to learn a lot from – which we definitely did!’

How long have you been a part of GYCG, and why did you want to join?

‘I have been a GYCG member for over a year and a half now – I wanted to get involved in any way I could with climate action in my home county, and the facilitators at GYCG were amazing at introducing me to existing members and making me feel immediately welcome.’

Why do you think it is important for organisations to include young people in decision-making?

‘Simply, young people are the future of our society and we see it as only fair to include them in decision-making processes that have long-term effects. When 8/10 young people are concerned about climate change and 86% support council action on climate change (InterClimate Network Survey 2022), it is crucial that organisations draw upon young people’s experiences, perspectives and concerns to holistically tackle environmental problems. This approach would also foster connections between councils, businesses and the next generation, opening channels of communication and involving our future workforce in meaningful discussions they can learn from and contribute to. For example, in presenting to Gloucestershire County Council we learned lots about decision-making at that level and in turn gained lots of positive feedback from councillors, who had few connections to youth groups and a limited understanding of the environmental concerns young people had.’

Since being a part of a climate-focused youth group, Tom confirmed his interest in the environment and is planning to study Geography at university next year.

We are delighted to have been able to offer this opportunity and insight into some of the work that we do. A big thanks to Creative Sustainability CIC‘s Gloucestershire Youth Climate Group, who formed the core panel, and a couple of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust‘s Youth Advisory Group for joining us and fully committing to developing well-thought-out recommendations.

The Cotswolds National Landscape Board welcomes Government’s recognition of the immense value of protected landscapes, the commitment to invest an additional £15m into protected landscapes is very positive news and hugely welcome. It will help us deliver more work, more effectively for nature recovery, climate action, and communities. In National Landscapes, that work will be delivered locally, but across our connected network – delivering an impact across the whole country.

The additional announcement of the designation of a new National Park is also welcomed by the family of National Landscapes. This, coupled with the slated boundary extensions to the already designated Surrey Hills and Chilterns, and the planned designation of two new National Landscapes: Cheshire Sandstone Ridge and the Yorkshire Wolds, is a powerful endorsement of the impact of protected landscapes in meeting the challenges ahead – including the commitment that 30% of all land and sea will be effectively protected and managed for nature by 2030.

You can read the full announcement from Government here. 

Notes to editors:

• The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 is the Act of the Parliament that provided the framework for the creation of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales, and also addressed public rights of way and access to open land. In the immediate wake of the second world war, the nation had the forethought to designate Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty as sisters to the NHS – one to look after the nation’s health, the other its nature and wellbeing.
• The first AONB to be designated was in 1956, Gower Peninsula, and the last the most recent, designated in 1995, is the Tamar Valley AONB, which spans Devon and Cornwall.
• An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of their national importance by the relevant public body: Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency respectively. In place of AONB, Scotland uses the similar national scenic area (NSA) designation.
• National Landscapes offer a uniquely integrated perspective in decisions about land use: convening conversations, bringing people together, and enabling a sustainable balance of priorities for nature, climate, people and place.
• The National Landscapes Association is the membership organisation representing the UK’s National Landscapes.
• The work of small (average four members of staff), expert National Landscapes teams is guided by the democratically derived Management Plan, developed through consultation with partners and members of the public through an open process every five years. The Management Plan covers the entirety of the landscape, considering how to protect and regenerate its special features: geology, species, heritage, industry, culture; balancing the needs of the local community to keep pace with the latest infrastructure, through a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities of these distinct and special places.

The new brand underpins ambitious targets for nature. Today, Wednesday 22 November, all designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in England and Wales are becoming National Landscapes. The new name reflects their national importance; the vital contribution they make to protect the nation from the threats of climate change, nature depletion and the wellbeing crisis, whilst also creating greater understanding and awareness for the work that they do.

This is a significant milestone for the UK and the next step in fully realising the National Landscapes’ vision to be the leading exemplars of how thriving, diverse communities can work with and for nature in the UK: restoring ecosystems, providing food, storing carbon to mitigate the effects of climate change, safeguarding against drought and flooding, whilst also nurturing people’s health and wellbeing.

National Landscapes teams have been at the forefront of delivering natural solutions to the main challenges facing the nation for many years. The new brand underscores their commitment to redoubling their efforts and engaging with a wider audience. In 2019, teams set themselves the most ambitious targets for nature in the sector and continue to work to meet them.

By 2030, National Landscapes aim that, within their boundaries: at least 200,000 hectares of the most valuable natural areas (Sites of Special Scientific Interest or SSSIs), which equates to 1 ¼  times the size of London, will be in favourable condition; 100,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside of SSSIs will be created or restored, which is roughly nine times the size of Manchester; and 36,000 hectares of woodland, which is a little smaller than the Isle of Wight, will have been planted or allowed to regenerate. National Landscapes Partnerships will also focus on habitat restoration to ensure the protection of some of our most endangered species and increase their work to help more people to enjoy time spent in beautiful places.

Because of their size and scope, National Landscapes are ideally positioned to address the environmental issues the UK is facing. There are 46 National Landscapes in the UK, covering 14% of England, Wales and Northern Ireland including moorland, farmland, coast, forests, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Biosphere Reserves, a Geopark and International Dark Sky Reserves. They are the UK’s nearby countryside – 66% of people in England (44 million) live within 30 minutes of a National Landscape and at least 170 million people visit them every year.

Andy Parsons, Cotswolds National Landscape Chief Executive, said,

“We are delighted to have played a leading role in this significant move forward for the national landscape family, which will offer us all a number of clear benefits. Those include building a strong and distinctive brand across national landscapes, widening the welcome and continuing to improve inclusivity and accessibility, and building on the success of our already strong network. In the Cotswolds, we adopted the National Landscape name in 2020, and our legal designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty remains, and today we are excited to now also adopt a refreshed logo and brand alongside the rest of the national landscapes family.”

John Watkins, Chief Executive of the National Landscapes Association says:

“For decades, AONB teams have convened powerful partnerships which have placed them at the forefront of the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss, but since their initial designation, our country has changed immensely, as have the needs and pressures on the environment and communities. However, we have great ambition as well as the commitment and readiness to care for and protect these important places, whilst also extending a welcome to more people. Our ambitious aims build on AONB teams’ long track record of successful delivery for nature and people and we are confident that we will achieve them. National Landscapes are the landscape designation for the 21 Century and beyond.”

Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England says:

“For decades the AONBs have helped protect the beauty of our finest landscapes. Today though we need so much more from these wonderful places, helping us adapt to climate change, catching carbon, restoring depleted wildlife and encouraging more people outside, at the same time as producing food, sustaining local communities and enhancing historic environments.

“Modern challenges require new approaches and today marks the beginning of a new phase for our National Landscapes, as they strengthen their existing partnerships, and forge new ones that will secure in perpetuity the huge range of benefits that come from these special places. Big change has taken place during the past 75 years and bigger changes still can be expected during the decades ahead. Uniting the National Landscapes in this way is very welcome and spells immense opportunity and great hope for the future.”

-ENDS-

Media contact:

Alana Hopkins, Communications Lead. alana.hopkins@cotswolds-nl.org.uk

 Notes to editors:

• In the Cotswolds, our neighbouring National Landscapes include: the Mendip Hills, North Wessex Downs, the Malvern Hills, the Wye Valley, and Cranborne Chase National Landscapes.
• The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 is the Act of the Parliament that provided the framework for the creation of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales, and also addressed public rights of way and access to open land. In the immediate wake of the second world war, the nation had the forethought to designate Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty as sisters to the NHS – one to look after the nation’s health, the other its nature and wellbeing.
• The first AONB to be designated was in 1956, Gower Peninsula, and the last the most recent, designated in 1995, is the Tamar Valley AONB, which spans Devon and Cornwall.
• An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of their national importance by the relevant public body: Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency respectively. In place of AONB, Scotland uses the similar national scenic area (NSA) designation.
• National Landscapes offer a uniquely integrated perspective in decisions about land use: convening conversations, bringing people together, and enabling a sustainable balance of priorities for nature, climate, people and place.
• The National Landscapes Association is the membership organisation representing the UK’s National Landscapes.
• The work of small (average four members of staff), expert National Landscapes teams is guided by the democratically derived Management Plan, developed through consultation with partners and members of the public through an open process every five years. The Management Plan covers the entirety of the landscape, considering how to protect and regenerate its special features: geology, species, heritage, industry, culture; balancing the needs of the local community to keep pace with the latest infrastructure, through a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities of these distinct and special places.
• Cotswold National Landscape Board owns no land, so our work is delivered by convening strong networks with landowners, farmers and partner organisations, working together to plan projects, and secure funding to deliver them.

Our regional tourism destination organisations have received the news that their new collaborative arrangement, Cotswolds Plus, has been awarded Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) status by VisitEngland. It will see Cotswolds Plus join the new national portfolio of high-performing LVEPs working to support and develop the visitor economy.

Chaired by the Cotswolds National Landscape Board, the partners include Marketing Cheltenham, Visit Gloucester, Visit Dean Wye, and Visit Gloucestershire – with Cotswolds Tourism as the lead organisation. Cotswolds Plus will not be a consumer-facing brand, but will work behind the scenes to shape and deliver national strategy and activities, as well as to bring a coordinated, strategic approach on key issues such as sustainability, business support, and research.

LVEP status ensures increased support, training, and collaboration with VisitEngland and VisitBritain in core areas such as accessibility, business support, and engagement with travel trade operators and event planners. Any future VisitEngland funding streams will also be channelled through the LVEPs.

Andy Parsons, chair of the Cotswolds Plus management board, said:

“The Cotswolds welcomes over 23 million visitors a year, spending in excess of £1 billion and supporting 23,000 jobs – partnership working is vital to successfully manage the environmental and social impacts. Cotswolds Plus offers a real opportunity to make a difference for the region by ensuring it is a vibrant year-round destination where tourism makes an increasing contribution to the local economy.”

Andrew Stokes, VisitEngland Director,  said:

“Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) are at the heart of transforming the visitor economy landscape in England and we are delighted to welcome ‘Cotswolds Plus’ onto the programme.

We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with Cotswolds Plus as the LVEP is established, providing ongoing support – including a dedicated VisitEngland regional development lead.

Having the right national and local infrastructure in place to grow our visitor economy, in an inclusive, accessible and sustainable way, will ensure England continues to be a compelling destination for both domestic and international visitors.” 

ENDS.

Notes for editors:

Cotswolds Plus is the official Local Visitor Economy Partnership working at a strategic level across the wider Cotswolds region. Partners include Cotswolds National Landscape, all the local authorities and county council for Gloucestershire and West Oxfordshire District Council. The partnership is led by Cotswolds Tourism and includes the DMOs for Cheltenham, DeanWye, Gloucester and Gloucestershire.

Cotswolds Tourism is the official Destination Management Organisation (DMO) for the Cotswolds. www.cotswolds.com

Forest of Dean and Wye Valley Tourism is the DMO for the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley. www.visitdeanwye.co.uk

Marketing Cheltenham is the DMO for Cheltenham https://marketingcheltenham.co.uk/

Visit Gloucester is the DMO for Gloucester. www.visitgloucester.co.uk

Visit Gloucestershire is Gloucestershire’s strategic DMO https://visit-gloucestershire.uk/

For press enquiries please contact Cotswolds Tourism Sally Graff via 01285 623050 or Chris Jackson 01993 861563 email cotswoldstourism@cotswold.gov.uk

Visit Britain / Visit England is the national tourism agency – a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Working with partners in the UK and overseas, their mission is to grow the volume and value of inbound tourism across the nations and regions of Britain and to develop world-class English tourism product to support growth aspirations.  For further information and access to the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics, visit www.visitbritain.org or www.visitbritain.com and www.visitengland.com for consumer information.