Wild Oxfordshire and West Oxfordshire District Council host successful Nature Recovery Conference

The annual conference, organised by Wild Oxfordshire, brings together community groups, parish councils, and individuals eager to learn how to make a positive impact on nature in their local areas. Held on a brisk November morning, attendees gathered at Warwick Hall for an inspiring day of presentations and discussions that aimed to facilitate nature recovery programmes across the district. 

Cllr Andrew Prosser, Executive Member for Climate Action and Nature Recovery and Cllr Lidia Arciszewska, Executive Member for Environment, praised the event:

"This conference highlights the incredible work being done by local groups to protect and restore our natural environment. It’s inspiring to see communities and experts working together to address climate and ecological challenges.  

“As a community across West Oxfordshire we need to be doing what we can to support local wildlife and start to reverse the damage done to ecosystems. This event is a key part of that and I would like to extend a big thank you to all those taking action.” 

The event kicked off with a presentation from Burford’s own environmental group, the Burford BEAgles. They highlighted their impactful initiatives, including tree planting, a community orchard, repair cafés, and talks on energy saving, composting, and wildlife conservation. 

Wild Oxfordshire followed with updates on the organisation’s community ecology work, part-funded by West Oxfordshire District Council, and examples of how local groups are enhancing habitats. The Wychwood Forest Trust, shared plans for rewilding and restoring Gibbets Close Hill, a newly acquired 20-hectare site near Witney, into a biodiverse haven through natural succession.  

The Evenlode Catchment Partnership presented examples of natural flood management and river restoration projects, while the North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster discussed how they collaborate on landscape-scale regeneration of farmland.  

This was followed by Oxfordshire County Council introducing the draft Local Nature Recovery Strategy—a county-wide vision that is currently open for public consultation and sets out a clear plan for supporting our natural environment.  

The day concluded with a tour of the Windrush floodplain meadows and restoration project, where participants discussed how best to manage meadows for people and nature.  

Rachel Crookes, Nature Recovery Lead from Wild Oxfordshire, said:

“It's great to see so many people working at different scales for nature's recovery come together and hear about the different projects working to improve our landscape for both nature and people.  

“Our annual conference breathes a renewed sense of conservation optimism into both Wild Oxfordshire and the communities that attend the event, and a sense that partnership work is really worth pursuing to tackle the ongoing ecological crisis.”