How we're making it happen
A new £5m Nature Fund will accelerate nature recovery across the West over the next three years, supporting projects that improve biodiversity, connect habitats and
bring people closer to nature.
This follows the publication of the West’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy – the first in England – which sets out regional priorities and where funding and resources for nature recovery would be best allocated.
A new £5m Nature Fund will accelerate nature recovery across the West over the next three years, supporting projects that improve biodiversity, connect habitats and bring people closer to nature. This follows the publication of the West’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy – the first in England – which sets out regional priorities and where funding and resources for nature recovery would be best allocated.
Projects will be approved for investment in autumn 2026.
Helped 23 schools switch to green energy, using £700,000 secured from government for the School Solar and Green Careers Project. The project is expected to deliver one megawatt of new energy capacity from solar panels on school buildings, the equivalent to more than 400 homes, and reduce school energy bills by an estimated £1.6m.
Advanced the Severn Estuary Commission’s recommendations to harness tidal power. Working in partnership with Cardiff Capital Region, we’re shaping a deliverable pathway for tidal lagoon development in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary that could generate enough electricity for over 2m homes.
Launched an interactive West of England Action for Nature map, showing what is being done across the region to recover nature and help monitor delivery of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy. Using the map, people and organisations acting to reverse the decline in nature can connect with potential funders and find experts for advice.
Powered summer festivals, events and film productions with a mobile clean power hub, replacing conventional diesel generators with renewably powered batteries. Delivered with Bristol City Council, ACT 1.5, Team Love and other partners, the pilot is helping to reduce pollution, even earning praise from headliner Lorde at FORWARDS Festival 2026.
Helped groups move towards community-owned renewable energy sources. £184,000 of Great British Energy Community Funds have been awarded to support feasibility and project development on five schemes, including Bristol Energy Cooperative and Great Western Air Ambulance (GWAAC) who have gained planning permission for ground mounted solar panels at their airbase in Almondsbury.
Focus on: Western Forest
In a boost to biodiversity and the creation of local green spaces, the first trees have been planted in the Pucklechurch Wood. Between the end of November 2025 and March 2026, 22,000 native and climate-resilient trees were planted at the 30-hectare Pucklechurch site by volunteers. It forms part of the Western Forest, the UK’s first new national forest in more than three decades.
Equivalent to around 42 football pitches, Pucklechurch Wood is being created thanks to land provided by South Gloucestershire Council. With the Government’s Trees for Climate funding through the Forest of Avon and funding from Pucklechurch Parish Council, it will evolve into a vibrant green space for people and nature for generations to come. Pond and wetland scrape features, funded by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, will be integral to the new woodland and boost biodiversity.
A further 22,000 trees will be planted from November 2026 to March 2027. In 10 to 15 years, the young trees will be recognisable woodland, with some trees reaching up to 10 metres in height. The site will be managed by South Gloucestershire Council, supported by Pucklechurch Parish Council, the Forest of Avon and a new ‘Friends of Pucklechurch Wood’ volunteer group.
The first of three new national forests promised by the government, the vision for the Western Forest is to increase trees and woodlands from the Cotswolds to the Mendips including in urban areas of Bristol. 2,500 hectares of new woodland and other tree habitats are planned in the next five years, and a goal for 20m trees in the ground by 2050.
