Finding Nature’s Footprints was a three-year National Lottery Heritage supported project working with communities to survey, map and take action for the fantastic wildlife of the North Devon Coast National Landscape.

We worked with people to improve wildlife survey skills, support nature’s recovery, and increase enjoyment of the local countryside and coast through engagement activities such as wildlife recording days and BioBlitz events. By connecting with a range of groups and volunteers, we explored the outdoors, teaching about the remarkable species found within the North Devon Coast National Landscape (NDCNL) and the habitats they require to thrive.

All wildlife records and information were used to support action by communities, volunteers, landowners, and local agencies to develop community‑led nature recovery plans and take action for habitat enhancement and nature conservation.

NDCNL teamed up with partners across North Devon to provide opportunities for new audiences in the area to connect with nature and benefit from the nationally designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Click here for a directory of training & volunteering opportunities.

During the final year of the Finding Nature’s Footprints project we have been focusing on developing community-led nature recovery plans for target areas around the North Devon Coast. After hosting three initial workshops in Hartland, Croyde and Combe Martin, and gather vital input from communities and individuals through online questionnaires, we have put together 3 community-led nature recovery plans that aim to encourage nature recovery action within the North Devon Coast National Landscape.

Year 3 Summary

The 3 year project has been hugely successful with over 2,539 people engaging in nature themed events around the North Devon Coast. The team have enjoyed sharing with the public practical conservation skills, wildlife identification skills, special species encounters, and more. We have surveyed over a dozen County Wildlife Sites and recorded wildlife all around the North Devon Coast on Wildlife Recording Days, expeditions and Bioblitz events.

Local Nature Recovery Plans

Local knowledge, collaboration, and understanding is essential for significant and enduring improvements for wildlife.

The Finding Nature’s Footprints project aimed to uplift communities to take action for nature recovery. We focused on supporting informed, empowered, and passionate choices for wildlife and nature recovery by locals in the National Landscape.

Our initial three workshops with community members around the North Devon Coast started off the process of building a community-led nature recovery network. Workshops focused on three key topics, Species, Habitats, and People, to identify the special and at-risk local areas & wildlife, the threats they face, and the scope for which locals can help them. After drafting nature recovery plans, we returned to communities with an online questionnaire to identify the most pressing nature recovery issues specific to each area. This approach provided a clearer, more detailed understanding of the key challenges and opportunities within individual communities, helping to better target future action.

We have now created targeted Community-led Nature Recovery Action Plans to support each area, and we will be holding practical workshops in each location to promote and empower these action.

See here for final plans > Nature Recovery – What Can You Do? – North Devon Coast

Environment Group

FNF also hosted a free environment group for people aged ~ 15-26. Communicating via a WhatsApp group-chat, we shared wildlife sightings, photography, voluntary/vocational opportunities, wildlife gardening advice, news, and events, which functions today. It was also a chance for like-minded individuals to meet and organise their own trips together, such as nature reserve visits. Environment group members are the first to know about our upcoming events, and some activities were organised specifically for them; for instance, we visited wildflower meadows and have held two highly successful group expeditions to travel the coast path while recording wildlife. Over 300 species were recorded last time!!
If you, or someone you know, would be interested in joining the WhatsApp group-chat for likeminded individuals, then please get in touch via aonb@devon.gov.uk.

Click here to see what else is happening in the North Devon Coast National Landscape.

Brownsham Woods – Wildlife Recording Day – Photos by Jamie Owen

Croyde – Wildflower Meadow Visit – Photo Jamie Buxton-Gould

Funding & Feedback

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players they support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Their vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.

This project was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. An interim evaluation has, therefore, been carried out for the first and second year of the project. The evaluation covers the project’s aims, funding breakdown, achievements, challenges and suggested improvements. You can find the evaluation documents here.