Currently, around 18.2% of council land is managed for the benefit of nature. To support nature our Managing for Nature programme will be investing £1 million into our parks and green spaces over the next two years, having secured funding from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority's Green Recovery Fund, matched to capital funding provided by the Council.
This investment will allow more of the city's green spaces to be managed for nature, boosting biodiversity and bringing communities closer to wildlife.
Our Managing for Nature programme will:
- improve the ecological condition of existing natural green spaces through better management
- create new habitats that improve connectivity for wildlife and implement 'wildlife-friendly' practices across a wider area
- engage more people with their local natural green spaces, increasing contact with and enjoyment of nature
We're responsible for over 1,000 hectares of land designated for nature conservation (around 3 times the size of Ashton Court or the equivalent of 1,500 football pitches). This land is split between 49 Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCIs), which include 13 Local Nature Reserves designated as special places for people to experience nature.
Our SNCIs are the most important spaces for nature in the city. We have been managing many of these spaces to maintain and improve their value for wildlife and people.
Our main estates are significant areas of natural habitat that are rich in a variety of wildlife. In recent years we have undertaken significant habitat restoration schemes in many of these places:
- Ashton Court Estate
- Blaise Castle Estate
- King Weston Estate
- Oldbury Court Estate
- Stoke Park Estate
- Avon Gorge
- The Downs
Overall, we manage nearly 200 hectares of species-rich grassland in agreement with Natural England, where the grass is cut annually as hay and removed. This traditional form of management supports a wide variety of wildflowers and pollinator insects, including bees and butterflies. Since the 1930s, Britain has lost over 97% of these wildflower meadows.
Some grassland we manage through conservation grazing either with deer, goats or cattle at Stoke Park, Avon Gorge, Hengrove Mounds and Ashton Court. Conservation grazing is one of the most sustainable and ecologically beneficial ways of managing grassland habitats, which we are looking to expand.
Our guide on how we manage our grasslands for nature (pdf, 30.54 MB) has more information.
Additional actions for nature have included:
- supporting Friends of Parks groups to create new habitats including wildflower meadows, ponds, orchards and woodland
- twice weekly volunteer sessions with a ranger at a variety of nature reserves and open spaces across Bristol. Find out more and sign up as a volunteer on the Nature Nurture Group with The Roving Ranger (Can Do Bristol) page
- using less intensive grass management regimes across 80 hectares, such as our longer summer grass regime (grass cut once per year and arisings left)
- keeping long grass margins alongside hedges and woodlands to give a transition between habitats that favours certain species
- cutting some of our native hedgerows less frequently where they're not immediately next to footpaths. This will increase the amount of berries and nuts available to birds and other wildlife over the winter
- reduced mowing of grass under trees to reduce compaction of soil and provide a wider range of habitats for insects
- leaving fallen timber in situ as dead wood that supports a variety of insects and fungi
- planted 6 hectares of woodland, 19 orchards and a mile of hedgerow in the past 3 years
- Hallen Marsh. This area comprises over 50 hectares of wetland, grassland and woodland habitats, which have been created since 2020 as part of the Avonmouth Severnside Enterprise Area (ASEA) Ecology Mitigation and Flood Defence Project. The site will be managed primarily for wetland birds, but also supports other notable species including water voles
Over the next 2 years, our £1 million Green Recovery Fund project will:
- improve 40 hectares of grassland, by introducing more nature-friendly grass management regimes (see more about this in the next section)
- create 20 hectares of species-rich grassland through implementing new hay cut regimes and over-sowing with yellow rattle (to favour native wildflowers)
- restore sections of the Malago and Pigeonhouse Stream in South Bristol in partnership with Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) and local community groups
- start work to restore habitats in 10 woodland SNCIs
- create 5 new wildlife ponds
- undertake a grazing feasibility study, to understand what the opportunities there are for expanding the area being grazed by animals under a conservation regime
If you'd like to receive these newsletters by email, or require them in plain text, please email nature.parks@bristol.gov.uk.
2026
2025
We are introducing new nature-friendly grass management regimes from Spring 2025 where we see the best opportunity to support nature's recovery. The new regimes are expected to increase the amount and diversity of wildlife, but this will take some time before nature can fully establish in these spaces.
These new regimes include floral lawns, wildflower meadow regimes, and tussocky grass. In most cases we will aim to remove the cut grass every time the grass is cut. This will, over time, reduce soil fertility and favour native wildflowers and pollinator species such as bees and butterflies. We will bring in new machinery to allow us to cut and collect the grass, which will then be sent to a green waste recycling facility.
We will learn from the success of this large-scale pilot and, subject to resources, look to expand these regimes more widely.
You can find more information about our grassland management and how particular regimes benefit wildlife in our guide to managing grasslands for nature (pdf, 30.54 MB) and you can view the sites included in our Managing for Nature grassland pilot on our interactive map.
What we're doing
Woodlands make up a significant proportion of our city's natural spaces and require more intervention than it might appear in order to maximise their benefits for wildlife.
We are carrying out restoration works at 5 key woodland sites across Bristol in accordance with brand new woodland management plans written by the Forest of Avon Trust.
These works are aiming to increase the wildlife value and resilience of our woodlands with benefits to:
- biodiversity
- ecosystem functioning
- aesthetic value
- improved access and safety for park users
Programme of works
The programme of works will be carried out between mid-September and start of October (early Autumn).
Kings Weston (Penpole Woods)
We'll prune overshading branches from around the newly restored Echo pond to increase light levels and decrease nutrient load into the pond.
We'll also clear the invasive non-native cherry laurel that has colonised large sections of this ancient woodland.
Napier Miles (30 Acre Wood)
We'll remove a large area of invasive non-native cherry laurel. This is shading a central portion of the woodlands on the north west slope.
Brandon Hill
We'll clear secondary growth scrub and invasive species from the civil war earthworks. These earthworks are a protected historic monument and risk being damaged by the scrub.
Nightingale Valley
We'll remove diseased and unsafe ash trees from along the EA access track. They will be replaced with understorey shrub species to create a graduated woodland edge and widened ride, which will benefit invertebrates. We will also coppice willow trees around the pond to increase light levels, decrease nutrient load and improve access to the pond.
Crew's Hole Woods
We'll remove damaged and overhanging trees from around the newly planted coppice coupes to allow more light into the woodland and create a wider range of habitats. The coupes will be rotationally coppiced, with the timber used by local volunteer groups to make woodland products.
How the work will happen
Contractors will be working in these woodlands with minimal equipment due to the limited access to most of the sites.
Paths will be temporarily closed and pedestrians marshalled around works areas while works are occurring. The scrub and invasive species removal will be carried out from the ground with chainsaws and any trees to be pruned or removed from around ecological assets will be climbed and aerially dismantled.
All arisings and brash will be stacked on site in dead hedges to provide further deadwood habitat and to protect areas of establishing ground flora.
Some timber will be made use of by local volunteer groups for timber products.
How we'll inform residents
Felling or works notices will be placed on access points to the target woodlands.
Managing for Nature means sometimes stepping back and letting nature do its own thing. The grass will grow longer, and it might look a bit messier, but we're giving more species the space to thrive.
We are finding the balance between letting this process happen and making sure that people still have access to green space.
Through our Managing for Nature project, we will be working with communities and stakeholders to explain our approach to introducing more nature-friendly regimes and to gain support, listen to concerns and opportunities to do things better.
We're already listening to feedback given in the recent consultation on our new Parks and Green Spaces Strategy. This highlighted concerns around access to parks and how green spaces would be maintained.
We have applied a number of principles to the way we manage sites, which we hope will go some way to alleviate these concerns. These include:
- mowing paths through areas where the surrounding grass is being left to grow longer
- continuing to mow the edges of these grasslands so they do not encroach onto adjacent pathways, pavements or roads
- from Spring 2025 we will be putting up signs to say that a space is being managed for nature and proving links to information and feedback
- continue to provide mown areas that are maintained for recreation, sport, and amenity purposes, ensuring provision for all
We'd like to hear your views on our Managing for Nature programme.
General feedback
To submit feedback on the overall Managing for Nature programme, use our feedback form Go to https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ManagingNatureFeedback/ (opens new window).
Site-specific feedback
You can view the grassland areas included in our Managing for Nature pilot by using our interactive map Go to https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/c7470410255d451e91df8a24f31c618f/ (opens new window).
How to use the map
- On the map tab, you can navigate around the map with your mouse or keyboard, or find a site by using the drop-down lists at the top, or by typing an address or post code in the search tool.
- If you select an area of grassland, it will automatically select all the other areas on the same management regime within that pilot site.
- Switch to the Feedback Form tab at the top right of the page and select the pilot site and grassland management type by using the drop-down lists.
- If you'd like to comment on a more specific area within a site, you can use the text box in the survey form to provide more detailed location information.
- Fill out the questions in the survey form and make sure to click submit at the bottom.
If you're struggling to use the interactive map, email nature.parks@bristol.gov.uk stating the site name and we can help.
Want to report an issue in one of our parks or green spaces instead? Use our report a problem form.
How we'll use your feedback
We'll regularly review feedback to inform whether we need to make any changes, such as following each grass cutting season. We're not able to respond to individual feedback.
Volunteer to help manage green spaces for nature
Find further information on how to volunteer to help manage your local park or green space for nature.