Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership celebrates five years of achieving more for nature

Representatives from the environment, planning, health, tourism and farming sectors have all come together to mark five years of achieving more for nature in Greater Lincolnshire.

The Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership's (GLNP) annual conference held at The Showroom in Lincoln on 22 November highlighted the successes to date since its launch in 2012 and looked forward to new priorities and challenges.

Speakers included Gill Wilson from City of Lincoln Council on the legacy of the Central Lincolnshire biodiversity opportunity mapping project and Andy Chick from Lincolnshire Bird Club on how usage of bird data has increased since records were incorporated into Lincolnshire Environmental Record Centre.

GLNP staff Sarah Baker and Fran Smith also spoke on innovative approaches to pollinator conservation on agricultural land and the current status of Local Nature Partnerships (LNPs) in England.

Opening the conference GLNP Chair, Richard Chadd, said: "The achievements of the last five years are the result of commitment from both the Partner organisations and the GLNP team. Identifying gaps in delivery for Greater Lincolnshire's wildlife has enabled everyone involved to address these by working together to deliver more.

"The broad variety of sectors represented at this conference demonstrates that the GLNP has been successful in reaching out to a wide audience to ensure wildlife and the natural environment are valued by all.

"It is important that we take the time to reflect on the last five years, recognise all that has been delivered and say thank you to those that have been involved along the way. There is still much that can be done and we know there is also much uncertainty about what future environmental policy may bring but the strong foundations upon which the GLNP is built mean we are well placed to ensure we can continue achieving more for nature for the next five years and beyond."

Following the formal presentations the 90 delegates were then invited to take part in a workshop to consider where future priorities should lie as planning for the GLNP's next steps gets underway.

The GLNP was formally launched on 8 November 2012 and is one of 48 Defra-accredited LNPs across England formed as a result of 'The Natural Choice' White Paper in 2011. An existing biodiversity partnership laid the foundations for the GLNP, delivering the data and evidence workstreams that underpin the strategy areas of agri-business, spatial planning, tourism and public health.

Notes to Editors:

The GLNP is a partnership of 49 organisations working together to achieve more for nature across Greater Lincolnshire.

Photographs from the GLNP's annual conference are available on request.