Everyone has a role to play in recovering nature. The choices we make as individuals often have the biggest influences, and whether it is the food we eat or which businesses we support, our individual actions can have consequences and accumulate to influence the future.

Our choices are what steer governments, organisations and businesses to make nature-friendly choices themselves, and provide nature-friendly purchasing options.

All nature recovery initiatives in the Peak District should give everybody the opportunity to get involved in some way, whether that means volunteering on larger projects or turning their gardens or window ledges into spaces for nature. The natural environment will only recover with everyone`s full support and cooperation.

For nature

• Homes and gardens offer huge opportunities to provide for wildlife, from bird boxes to mini meadows.
• Gardens can support species that have declined in the wider countryside.
• Some species have adapted to live in human-made habitats, such as house sparrows and house martins.
• Being close to and engaging with nature encourages us to care for it into the future.
• Encouraging others to take action by demonstrating what can be done.
• Increased feelings of connectedness to nature encourages people to take more nature-friendly action (opens new window).
• Individual choices when purchasing food and other products will have impacts along the entire chain of production.

What else can everyone doing something deliver?

• Interaction with others and a sense of community.
• Interacting with and being in nature is good for our mental health and wellbeing.
• Everyone can take ownership of their impacts and help reduce and mitigate negative outcomes.
• Creates nature-friendly business opportunities as consumers look for greener products and food.
• Educates and engages people in wider issues.

In practice

• Manage gardens with wildlife in mind by not using pesticides, creating access and providing water. Rewilding can be done at a garden scale, for example by creating meadows instead of mowing lawns.
• Guidance should be available in simple, practical terms that can be understood and implemented by everyone.
• Visitors to the Peak District can follow the countryside code and be Peak District Proud.
• Share your story.
• Buy local - ask questions about what you’re buying and where it comes from. Buy from producers who can share their story about what they’re doing for nature.
• Promote both traditional and novel ways of how nature is being recovered in all areas of the park to raise awareness of the work and increase people`s connectedness to nature.

CASE STUDY Ponds in a Pot