Photo credit: David Morris.
An article by Martin Varley from the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme.
Nature recovery isn’t just about ecological outcomes – it’s about fairness, inclusion and collaboration. Large-scale restoration depends on meaningful relationships with the people who live and work in these landscapes. Martin Varley, Programme Manager for Cumbria Connect, explores why community engagement is essential for successful nature recovery and how finding the right balance in decision-making can determine a project’s success or failure.
A common perception is that the simplest way to restore nature is to buy land, reduce human activity and let nature take its course. While this may work in some contexts, the reality is often far more complex. Large-scale restoration projects rarely happen in isolation. Instead, they take place in landscapes where people live, work and hold deep-rooted connections to the land.
In the Cumbria Connect landscape, our partners directly manage around 30% of the project area. For the remaining land, our efforts must involve working with the wider community, winning hearts and minds for nature. And that means more than just working with landowners. A diverse range of people have opinions on how land is used, where nature fits in and who should be involved in decision-making. The conversations people have with friends, neighbours and colleagues can play a significant role in shaping a project’s outcome. If communities feel left out, mistrust and opposition can emerge, which may hinder ecological goals and weaken community support. And when that happens, everyone loses – because healthier landscapes not only benefit biodiversity but also enhance the wellbeing of people, providing cleaner air and water, flood resilience and spaces for people to connect with nature.
Successful nature recovery depends not only on ecological action, but on inclusive relationships with the people who live and work in restored landscapes. Credit: Patrick Neaves.
The role of people in restoration
Too often, people are overlooked in nature recovery projects, with the focus placed solely on restoring habitats and species. But landscapes are not empty spaces – they are lived in and shaped by history, livelihoods and identity. If people feel disconnected from restoration projects, they are less likely to support them and, in some cases, may actively oppose them.
When people feel distant or disconnected from decisions that affect their environment, it can create a sense of imbalance and exclusion within communities. This may lead to misunderstandings, mistrust or resistance – challenges that can slow progress or create unintended barriers to restoration. Restoring nature is not just an ecological challenge – it is a social one too. If you want to restore nature on a landscape scale, you need to be part practitioner, part politician.
Restoration takes root where people feel heard and included. Community connection to place is essential for long-term support. Credit: Bailey Lamburn.
The Engagement Spectrum: A strategic approach
Community engagement is a widely used term, but it is not a single action – it exists on a spectrum. At one end is informing: simply telling people what is happening. At the other is empowering: giving communities the authority to make final decisions. Where a project sits on this spectrum can determine whether it gains support or meets resistance.
A successful project must understand this spectrum and use it strategically – engaging the right stakeholders at the right time to smooth the path for the transformative change needed to tackle the nature crisis.
Engagement takes many forms, typically falling into five strands: informing, consulting, involving, collaborating and empowering. As you move along this spectrum, more power is devolved and shifts to stakeholders. This is why many decision-makers prefer to limit engagement to informing – “We will send you a newsletter telling you what we are doing” – rather than risk the higher stakes of empowering – “We will implement what you decide”. However, a reluctance to share power can reduce stakeholder involvement, increase community disenfranchisement and resistance, and ultimately undermine nature recovery efforts – the exact opposite of what is intended.
Balancing ecological goals with public perspectives requires flexibility, clarity and a willingness to listen — especially on complex issues like species reintroductions. Credit: Wild Intrigue / Matthew Laverick.
Finding the right balance in engagement
So, how much power should a project share? If we only inform people about a proposed species reintroduction without seeking their input, we risk facing resistance or public campaigns against it. But if we hand over full decision-making control without a clear framework, ecological goals may be lost. Both extremes carry risks. Striking the right balance depends on the context, the stakeholders involved, and a willingness to engage constructively.
At Cumbria Connect, we take a nuanced approach. By using the engagement spectrum as a tool and developing a deeper understanding of our stakeholders, we can ensure our approach resonates with the communities we work with.
The aim is not necessarily full agreement, but mutual understanding – so that even if people do not fully agree with our approach, they at least understand why we are doing it.
Structured tools, like surveys and workshops, can help uncover shared values and reduce polarisation around restoration decisions. Credit: David Morris.
Tools for understanding stakeholders
Listening to and learning about what matters to your stakeholders is key to meaningful engagement. To support this, Cumbria Connect contributed to the development of a Restoration Partnership Development Toolkit, created by the University of Edinburgh and the University of Cambridge, with funding from an ELSP Advancing Restoration Knowledge grant. The toolkit aims to support restoration practitioners to facilitate discussions, identify areas of common ground, and navigate differences in perspectives.
The toolkit includes:
- A customisable survey to gather insights on stakeholder perspectives
- Guidance on running deliberative workshops where stakeholders can discuss survey results, identify areas of agreement and disagreement, and explore their implications
Volunteers play a crucial role in building local ownership of restoration efforts. Participation fosters trust, learning and lasting support. Credit: Eden Rivers Trust.
Building trust for lasting change
Restoring nature is about more than just landscapes – it is about people. By embracing engagement and sharing decision-making where appropriate, we can build trust, reduce resistance and create lasting, meaningful change for nature and communities alike.
To find out more about the Cumbria Connect restoration landscape, visit their project page. And to find out more about the wider work of the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme.