Information Sharing Pro forma
Agency name: Natural England
Representative name: Wendy Thompson
Period covered: May to September 2012
NEWS TO SHARE – this will be published on the public part of the CRN website
Publications
Access to Nature
Access to Nature is a £28.75 million BIG lottery grant scheme to encourage more people to enjoy the outdoors, particularly those who face social exclusion or those that currently have little or no contact with the natural environment - perhaps because they lack the confidence to get out and enjoy natural places or have few opportunities to do so. By 2014 we want 1.7 million people - in urban, rural and coastal communities across England - to have benefited from this grant programme by giving them improved opportunities to experience and enjoy the natural environment and providing more opportunities to gain new skills.
Since it opened for applications in April 2008 Access to Nature has funded some excellent projects that are helping people all over England get greater access to the natural environment – including for example disability trampers being available across the South West; supporting black and minority ethnic (BME) communities to get more involved with national parks; as well as many projects which are providing a range of volunteering and educational opportunities for local communities and young people.
Further information, along with the A2N newsletter can be found on the Natural England website:
National Trails review
To ensure the long term protection and maintenance of National Trails, Natural England recently ran a consultation that focussed on improving how they are managed and funded – the first time this had been looked at for ten years. This consultation confirmed the Government’s long-term commitment to securing and supporting these much loved routes. In the consultation Natural England received 140 responses from a number of organisations which are closely involved in the care and maintenance of the Trails. These are now being carefully analysed and the response to the consultation will be published, following further partner discussion, by April 2013.
For more information:
Coastal Access
Natural England is working to create the England Coast Path. Our Coastal Access Scheme sets out our approach to doing this. We have a duty under the Coastal Access legislation to review the Scheme in the light of our first three years’ experience of implementing it on the ground. This is a review of the Scheme only, not the legislation itself.
Our experience so far, especially given the opening of the first stretch of route at Weymouth and recent consultations in Durham and Cumbria, suggests that the Scheme has generally worked well, but we know there are some aspects that can be improved. In particular, we intend to address the lessons learned from Defra’s review of implementation at Weymouth.
The review will run until 31st October 2012 and will be complete March 2013. A report will be published soon after that. There will then be a full public consultation on the changes we propose to make to the Scheme as a result of the findings.
For more information:
Olympic and Paralympic games
Natural England has been working closely with the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and their partners. Together, new standards have been set by embedding sustainability in all aspects of the Games. Alongside achievements for the natural environment at venues in and outside London, excellent green infrastructure is being developed and regeneration of parts of London’s East End is a key legacy. For further information about work at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Weymouth and Portland, Eton Dorney, Hadleigh and Box Hill:
Monitoring of Engagement with the Natural Environment
MENE collects a range of information about people’s visits to the natural environment. This includes the type of destination, the duration of the visit, mode of transport, distance travelled, spend, main activities and motivations for the visit. It collects data on people that do not visit the natural environment, and the reasons for this. The survey also collects information about other ways that people engage with the natural environment, for instance watching wildlife and volunteering to help protect the natural environment. This will help develop understanding of how people interact with the natural environment and will support many projects that work with people. Data is published as a monthly statistical release