RESTORE

As 2024 draws to a close, we reflect on an incredible first year at RESTORE. From pioneering restoration projects to establishing innovative partnerships, we’ve achieved significant milestones in our mission to restore nature. We’ve worked with landowners to integrate natural capital solutions, advanced our work with species reintroductions, and seen the power of collaboration in action. A heartfelt thank you to our partners, supporters, and our growing team—your dedication makes it all possible. As we enter the new year, we’re more committed than ever to restoring the UK’s landscapes and accelerating biodiversity recovery. Wishing you all a peaceful and joyous Christmas and a 2025 filled with growth, restoration, and connection with nature. 🎄❄️🎁

Start the year inspired! 🦋 Join us at the Citizen Zoo Rewilding Conference this January, where RESTORE’s Founder and Director, Benedict Macdonald, and Species Reintroduction Ecologist, Peter Cooper, will share their expertise on nature restoration in the UK and species reintroductions. 🌱🐾 This is your chance to explore cutting-edge rewilding efforts, connect with like-minded individuals, and learn how we can collectively restore ecosystems. 🌍 Secure your tickets now and be part of the rewilding revolution! 📅 17-18th January 2025 📍 Cambridge University 🎟️ https://lnkd.in/eR6GmU3a #rewilding #conference #restorenature #naturerestoration #nature #environment #biodiversity #wildlife #cambridge

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲: 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 Across the country, larger farms and estates are embracing ideas, animals, and landscapes that might have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago. Southill Estate, however, has always been ahead of the curve. For years, it has nurtured habitats that support significantly higher numbers of red-listed birds than are typically found in the intensively farmed Bedfordshire countryside. Now, their ambition for nature recovery has gone through the roof. In this video, we explore gamekeeper Paul Dunn's journey from traditional practices to becoming a passionate advocate for beavers. With guidance from Restore, the estate is preparing to reintroduce keystone species, starting with a beaver pond created in partnership with the Beaver Trust. Alongside this, Southill has also welcomed newt ponds established by the Newt Conservation Partnership for NatureSpace Partnership’s district licensing scheme — a vital step for supporting these endangered amphibians. Southill is proof that nature recovery doesn’t just benefit biodiversity; it rewilds our perspective too. #nature #environment #beavers #rewilding #naturerestoration #restorenature #wetland 

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲: 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 Across the country, larger farms and estates are embracing ideas, animals, and landscapes that might have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago. Southill Estate, however, has always been ahead of the curve. For years, it has nurtured habitats that support significantly higher numbers of red-listed birds than are typically found in the intensively farmed Bedfordshire countryside. Now, their ambition for nature recovery has gone through the roof. In this video, we explore gamekeeper Paul Dunn's journey from traditional practices to becoming a passionate advocate for beavers. With guidance from Restore, the estate is preparing to reintroduce keystone species, starting with a beaver pond created in partnership with the Beaver Trust. Alongside this, Southill has also welcomed newt ponds established by the Newt Conservation Partnership for NatureSpace Partnership’s district licensing scheme — a vital step for supporting these endangered amphibians. Southill is proof that nature recovery doesn’t just benefit biodiversity; it rewilds our perspective too. #nature #environment #beavers #rewilding #naturerestoration #restorenature #wetland 

𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆 🌱🌍 Soil is the foundation of all life on Earth, a vital yet often overlooked ecosystem. Today, on World Soil Day, we’re highlighting the remarkable role of one of nature’s great soil engineers: the wild boar. As Benedict Macdonald describes in Cornerstones: “𝘽𝙤𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙞𝙡 – 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩. 𝙂𝙧𝙪𝙗𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙝𝙞𝙯𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 (𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙨), 𝙩𝙪𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙗𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙞𝙡 – 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙗𝙮 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚. 𝘼𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚: 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙭. 𝘽𝙮 𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙞𝙡 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙝 𝙙𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙨. 𝘼𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 ‘𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙩’ 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙭 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝. 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚-𝙙𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡. 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣’𝙨 27 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙝, 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 ‘𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨’ 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙗𝙚𝙙𝙨.” This fascinating behaviour shows how wild boar don’t just forage; they transform landscapes, enhancing soil health and biodiversity through their careful and purposeful digging. Their actions remind us of the intricate connections between animals and ecosystems, and why protecting these natural processes is so crucial. 🌾🐗 #nature #enviornment #soil #worldsoilday #healthysoils #wildboar #groundbreakers #naturerestoration #restorenature #rewilding

🎤 Exciting news! Our very own Peter Cooper, Species Restoration Lead at RESTORE, will be speaking at the 2025 Citizen Zoo Rewilding Conference 🐛 Whether he’s building invertebrate breeding facilities, conducting ecological assessments, or engaging with communities, Pete is making a real impact in species reintroductions across Britain. His work is a true inspiration for nature restoration enthusiasts! Don't miss this opportunity to hear Pete's insights and learn about the transformative projects driving rewilding in the UK. 🎟️ Grab your tickets now: https://ow.ly/pnwj50UjcSI #Rewilding #NatureRestoration #CitizenZoo #SpeciesReintroduction #RestoreNature #nature #enironment

Insights from the CIEEM Autumn Conference Last week, our new Ecology Director, Samuel Durham BSc (Hons) MCIEEM, attended the CIEEM Autumn Conference – Restoring Forwards: Best Practices for Resilient Nature Restoration. It was a brilliant opportunity to reconnect with peers and dive into cutting-edge ideas shaping the future of ecological restoration. Here are Sam's key takeaways: 🦺 Net Benefits for Biodiversity (NBB) In contrast to the metric-based Biodiversity Net Gain in England, the emerging Welsh approach to ecological restoration takes a policy-based path, allowing nuanced ecological judgements to be made but raising questions about scaling natural capital funding for larger projects. Lots to think about after the insightful NBB workshop with Craig Llewellyn MCIEEM CSJK! 🌱 Soil Microbiomes & Ecosystem Recovery Microbial inoculation of soils could accelerate ecosystem recovery! Inspired by Jake M. Robinson’s talk, we’re planning our first field trials to explore this exciting frontier. 🌾 💬 Dialogue Matters As Diana Pound CEnv FCIEEM highlighted, stakeholder engagement in large-scale land-use change needs to be genuine and inclusive from the start. At RESTORE, we’re passionate about this and proud of our track record in facilitating open, productive dialogues. 🤝 🔍 Tech & AI in Nature Restoration Emerging technologies like passive acoustics and remote sensing for nature hold incredible potential for baselining and monitoring ecosystems. But the sector is still in a ‘live R&D phase,’ meaning collaboration between tech developers, ecologists and land managers is critical. Striking the right balance between AI and human expertise will be key to delivering scalable, scientifically robust data to underpin and drive forward meaningful nature recovery. 💻🌱 These events are invaluable for sharing knowledge and driving collaborative action at pace and scale. RESTORE are proud to be at the forefront of advancing ecological restoration standards, pioneering species reintroductions and developing nature-based solutions to fund ecosystem recovery, and collaboration is at the heart of what we do! 🌍💡 #Ecology #NatureRecovery #CIEEM #Innovation #RestoreNature #NatureRestoration #Nature #Environment

𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿, Samuel Durham BSc (Hons) MCIEEM. As Restore continues to grow and expand its nature restoration services, we are delighted to welcome Sam Durham to the team as our Ecology Director. An entrepreneurial team player, Sam is a lifelong naturalist who has built a successful career coordinating and driving forwards complex ecological projects - from designing for BNG to driving forward habitat restoration projects, Ecological Impact Assessment, designing baseline surveys and long-term monitoring programmes and overseeing practical nature restoration. During his time as a co-owner and director of the successful consultancy, Lloydbore, Sam ran an impressive cross-disciplinary team whose work spanned the renewable energy, agriculture and nature restoration sectors, and brought together a team well known for its expertise and efficiency in delivering ecology services across a wide array of landscapes.  Sam’s depth of experience also takes Restore from our comfort space – on the land – into marine and freshwater ecosystems, where his deep knowledge in this area will help with some of our freshest 2025 projects: to regenerate seagrass and the coastal environments of a major flagship project. Sam’s incredibly friendly management style belies a laser-focus on delivery and coordination of complex ecological projects, managing large teams across disciplines and delivering, to the highest standard, HMMPs and other key ingredients of the growing Restore Natural Capital operation. During his time working for Restore as a freelance consultant, we were impressed by the relentless pace of Sam’s work, his ingenuity in crafting ambitious Biodiversity Net Gain schemes for our clients, and his track record of team management and problem-solving for some of the UK’s most innovative landowners. Sam now joins our senior management team, where he will also work with our inspiring species restoration lead, Peter Cooper, to spearhead the growth of our species restoration programme in 2025 and beyond.  Above all, Sam retains the ability to separate a marsh tit from a willow tit – and we wouldn’t have it any other way! Restore’s top team evolved in the field, and bring a lifetime of experience and knowledge of the natural world to every aspect of our work - and this, above all, is why we’re so excited to welcome Sam to lead our ecology team. #restorenature #naturerestoration #ecology #ecologist #director #nature #environment

🌳 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 🌳 As we celebrate 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸, we’re excited to highlight our work with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and Worcestershire Wildlife Trust on the 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀 Project. This ambitious initiative aims to create a 60-mile corridor of tree cover, connecting two of England’s largest semi-natural woodlands—from the Forest of Dean to the Wyre Forest. 🌲 By integrating trees into productive landscapes, the project shows how woodlands, hedgerows, orchards and innovative agroforestry systems can support: 🌍 Biodiversity recovery 🌾 Agricultural productivity 💧 Climate resilience RESTORE is proud to contribute with a 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 mapping how to 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝟲𝟲𝟬 𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 of countryside, paving the way for thriving wildlife corridors, resilient landscapes and sustainable livelihoods. 🐿️ Imagine a dormouse travelling from Coleford to Kidderminster without touching the ground! This National Tree Week, let’s recognise the incredible potential of projects like Severn Treescapes to secure a greener, wilder future for generations to come. 🌱 #NationalTreeWeek #SevernTreescapes #Rewilding #Biodiversity #Restorenature #NatureRestoration #Nature #Environment #Agriculture #Forestry

We at RESTORE are delighted to welcome Andrew Scoon as our new ecological land manager. Working within the pioneering “get nature restoration done fast and well” (aka Land Management) department led by Ross Wingfield, Andrew will help support the creation of new landscapes for nature, from helping manage our complex array of contractors to helping create our land vision reports; mapping; estate management and landscape design. Bridging backgrounds in engineering and practical nature restoration, Andrew patiently endured an interview process that began with over 80 applicants. It’s a great pleasure to welcome him to the ever-growing RESTORE team!