Large Scale Nature Restoration - Wendling Beck Visit

Following on from Toby's sell-out presentation at Cowcross Street on his work in Large-Scale Nature Restoration projects in Devon and Norfolk back in February, LI London branch is delighted to be able to offer an opportunity to see the Wendling Beck Environment Project (WBEP) in person.

A pioneering nature recovery initiative in Norfolk, UK, that is transforming approximately 2,000 acres of formerly intensive arable land into a mosaic of diverse habitats.Located near Dereham, the project is a collaboration between four neighbouring landowners, local authorities, and environmental NGOs. It serves as a flagship "exemplar" for using private finance and "nature markets" to fund large-scale ecological restoration while maintaining some food production through regenerative farming.

Key Environmental Goals
The project aims to complete its initial habitat creation by 2030, including:

• Habitat Mosaic: Creating over 900 acres of species-rich grassland, 100 acres of woodland, and 200 acres of heathland and scrub.
• River Restoration: Restoring 5km of local rivers, specifically focusing on the rare Wendling Beck chalk stream, a tributary of the River Wensum.
• Biodiversity & Carbon: Delivering approximately 3,000 Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) units and sequestering an estimated 250,000+ tonnes of carbon.
• Water Management: Implementing nature-based solutions for natural flood management and nutrient mitigation to improve water quality.

Economic & Community Impact

• Nature Markets: Financing is driven by selling environmental credits for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and Nutrient Neutrality to developers.
• Public Access: The project includes the Wendling Way, a circular trail for walkers and cyclists, and aims to provide educational access for up to 15,000 school children annually via the Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse Museum.
• Job Creation: Transitioning to this model is predicted to increase full-time employment by 1,000% compared to the previous intensive farming system.

This special guided tour will be led by the team at Wendling Beck and Toby Diggens (Founder and Co-Director Landscape Architect) Digg & Co. Studio who are leading the project.

Travel and meeting: We will be meeting at the The Barn at Dillington Hall, Sandy Ln, Dereham NR19 2QB at 09.30am to commence the tour at 10am.

You will need to make your own way to the meeting point

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Parking will be available on-site, or alternatively there are regular trains from London to Downham Market, Kings Lynn and Noriwch Stations, all of which are approximately 45min drive to the meeting point. Taxis should be available at Kings Lynn and Norwich stations, but you may need to pre-book from Downham Market.

Travel around the project will be in 4-wheel drive vehicles supplied by the team.

Contact details for someone attending on the day will be provided should you have any issues finding everyone.

The event will go ahead rain or shine, but please come dressed suitably for the weather!

Food & Drink: You are encouraged to carry water with you for the day. We will be booking a local pub for lunch at 12.30 - 14.00 - please confirm if you wish to join us when you book.

Tickets:

Cost: £60.00 - 12 Places Available

Please note that due to the anticipated demand and limited numbers of places available, we will also be running a wait list for this event. If a space becomes available you will be notified in sign-up order and offered the space available - for fairness, you will have 48hrs to buy your ticket, then we will go to the next person on the list.

If you have any questions please email the London Branch team on [email protected]

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Host or Publisher Landscape Institute London