Mission Wild - Transforming landscapes

Gloucestershire is home to an incredible mosaic of habitats, from thick broadleaf woodland in the Forest of Dean, to incredible river systems and flower-filled grasslands in the Cotswolds.  

Sadly, so much has been lost over the last 50 years. Habitat loss, pollution and development have squeezed wildlife into smaller and smaller pockets, leaving once-thriving landscapes quieter and devoid of nature. But it doesn’t have to remain this way. 

Our mission is to restore Gloucestershire’s lost landscapes. Through Mission Wild, we aim to restore 11 Nature Recovery Zones across the county, giving nature the foothold it needs to bounce back. This could be our last chance to make sure that our children’s children can hear the sounds of cuckoos calling, or enjoy the sight of hedgerows buzzing with insects.  

At the heart of this work are our Nature Recovery Zones. These are large-scale landscapes that go beyond the bounds of our nature reserves and make up an area eleven times the size of Gloucester! A space where wildlife can move freely through joined-up habitats.  

We will work with landowners across the 50,000 hectares covered by Nature Recovery Zones to create connected, resilient, wilder spaces and use natural solutions to tackle flooding and drought, whilst locking away carbon. By restoring rivers, wetlands, woodlands and grasslands at a landscape scale, we can give nature the space it needs to recover.