News

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) are spatial strategies to recover nature across England: part of the 2021 Environment Act. Together, they will cover the country in a Nature Recovery Network (NRN).

Each LNRS will create baseline map areas of particular importance for biodiversity, before working with partners from many groups, from landowners to businesses, to eNGOs, and the public. Priorities for nature recovery will be agreed and these will be used to create a local habitat map.

There will be an interactive map showing proposals at a local scale, depicting what needs to happen to achieve the agreed aims. This will link up with delivery mechanisms, such as Biodiversity Net Gain for planning and Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes for land management including farming.

Hi all

GREN regularly organises environmental hustings before local elections and we did email different political parties to offer an online hustings this year. Unfortunately, we only heard back from two parties: Labour and Green parties .Since we could not hold hustings, we decided to provide direct links to both of their manifestos as a bit of a thank-you for responding to GREN and because some people don't read the leaflets that come through the door, but might read the manifestos online.

        Reading Labour – A Proven Record of Delivery:

https://readinglabour.org.uk/reading-labour-manifesto-2023/

Reading Greens are campaigning for a fairer, greener and cleaner town. Their manifesto is here https://reading.greenparty.org.uk/manifesto/

However you choose, please use your vote on 4th May

South Whitley linear Park, alongside the M4 feeder roads, has a new community orchard and wildflower area and plans for more changes. Local Councillors and volunteers planted the first fruit trees at the end of March and more will follow. Reading Borough Council has done a huge clear out of rubbish along the boundaries and there are plans for future activities such as planting a willow bank.

Do you live in the area and could lend a hand occasionally (or regularly of course) within a new community group to look after and improve this area for communal use, biodiversity and carbon storage? If so, please contact Robert stirling on 07785750430 or at Robert.stirling@reading.gov.uk and talk to him about future plans. There’s a wide range of options for helping, not just wielding a spade!

More information on the press releases

 https://media.reading.gov.uk/news/roots-of-a-new-community-orchard-planted-in-whitley.  - https://rdg.today/garden-of-eden-community-orchard-planted-in-mayors-ward/.