From schools and farms to businesses, community groups, landowners, and individuals, we all have a role to play in making nature more abundant, connected and resilient in Dorset.

Nature recovery isn't just about re-wilding, it might be planting more wildflowers on roadside verges, using wildlife-friendly practices on farms, or creating a wildlife pond in an urban park.

So, whether you're involved in large-scale conservation projects, sustainable farming initiatives, or small local activities, your efforts to make more space for nature count. 

Join the Nature Recovery Dorset network

Nature Recovery Dorset celebrates and supports the individuals, farmers, landowners, communities and organisations who are helping restore nature in Dorset. 

There's no cost or commitment to join - just a shared desire to make nature in Dorset bigger, better and more joined up. 

Businesses

Litter Free Dorset's Sustainable Business Network is a free platform for businesses to come together to discuss challenges and make steps to become sustainable. Network members can work to achieve different levels of a Sustainable Business Award. 

The network now has over 130 members from different sectors and a new award category has been created for nature recovery.

Find out more and join the Sustainable Business Network. 

Community groups and individuals 

Dorset Wildlife Trust will be supporting local communities to make more space for nature through a self-help hub and a community action map launching Autumn 2024. 

The interactive map will allow communities to upload their nature actions and provide contact details to help connect communities to share advice, stories, volunteering opportunities, and enable more people to work together for nature. 

Dorset Council has some nature and wildlife advice and advice for community groups. 

Volunteer Centre Dorset have a range of volunteering opportunities, including gardening, nature conservation and outdoor activities. 

Dorset Wildlife Trust have some resources on simple things you can do to help wildlife and some free wildlife-friendly gardening guides. 

Farmers and landowners

Farmers, landowners and land managers are custodians of the land so play a key role in Nature Recovery Dorset. Many Dorset farmers are involved in long-term stewardship of our natural environment, alongside food production and other rural businesses. For example:

  • restoring hedgerows
  • planting wildflower margins
  • riverbank management
  • reducing run-off 
  • conservation grazing

The farming sector is currently going through changes to payments available for different environmental actions. The Future Farming Resilience programme offers free support during this Agricultural Transition. 

The Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme runs until March 2025 and provides funding to farmers and land managers for projects that support nature recovery, or nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses. FiPL is available in the Dorset National Landscape and Cranborne Chase National Landscape. 

Farmer Clusters are landscape-scale projects and groups led by farmers who work together to collectively deliver greater benefits for nature. There are several farmer clusters already running in Dorset. 

Help shape the Local Nature Recovery Strategy

We use the platform Citizen Space to collect inputs that are helping us shape the LNRS.

Have your say

Find out more about how is the strategy being prepared.