BLOG: Who will deliver our nature restoration targets? We need a National Nature Service.

April 2024

In 2022 at COP15 the UK Government agreed to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and place nature on the route to recovery.

With UK Nature continuing to see such huge declines (last year’s State of Nature Report found that nearly one in six species in Great Britain are threatened with extinction)  it’s crucial that these targets are turned into action. The agreed targets have the potential to make a huge difference for nature, but it would be impossible to achieve them without addressing one small problem – who will deliver them?

While nature-based jobs become increasingly essential, the number of people with skills in many nature roles from; ecology and planning, to nature-friendly farming and parks management has stagnated and left the sector in short supply. Many green job schemes, such as the Green Jobs Taskforce in 2020, have focused on climate and sustainability which are essential to reaching our net-zero goals, but nature recovery roles have seemingly slipped largely through the net. Perhaps the Government underestimates what skills are needed to deliver recovery strategies, and in how many different sectors?

Encouragingly though, it seems that the public are overwhelmingly aware of this challenge. Recent polling reveals that increasing the number of green jobs in the country has 73% support and there is no doubt that there is a desire among many young people to work for nature– but right now the support isn’t there at the scale that is needed to make that happen. 

Three years ago I graduated with a degree in Geography (BSc) but I felt that many nature recovery jobs were still inaccessible to me without further qualifications or experience, both of which come with their own challenges. Financing a Masters degree is no small feat, and entering the nature policy sector without a wealth of experience or connections under my belt proved to be a difficult task.

It’s this reality which pushes so many graduates towards unpaid internships. 

One thing is for certain, unpaid training roles should be a thing of the past. With the cost of living continually on the rise it is impossible to sustain a year of training without pay and young people have often had to choose between gaining experience in a relevant but unpaid position or taking a paid job in an unrelated field to get by, only to be faced with the same decision again on the next job application. Statistics reflect that this challenge is exacerbated for marginalised groups. Despite nature-deprivation and pollution disproportionately affecting the most disadvantaged communities,  only around 6% of environment professionals are from ethnic minority backgrounds. 

To address the skills and diversity gap the Nature 2030 campaign proposes a National Nature Service (NNS) to deliver one-year of paid work and training specifically towards habitat restoration and creation. With appropriate Government funding, future employers could deliver on-the job training and develop essential skills without applicants having to compromise on a salary. 100,000 people signed the open letter including this as one of five key nature actions for politicians to back, so it’s clear that a National Nature Service has big public support.  

I know programmes like this can work. My role at Wildlife and Countryside Link wouldn’t have been possible without the ‘New to Nature’ scheme. Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and delivered by Groundwork UK, The Prince’s Trust, Disability Rights UK, Mission Diverse and the Youth Environmental Service, New to Nature supports over 95 young people across the UK from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds and provides them with a year of paid work in the nature sector.This placement has already provided a wealth of on-the-job experience and I’m continually learning and strengthening new skills. My role has now been extended beyond the one-year placement, so it’s clear how valuable a way of starting a green career New to Nature can be. I personally couldn’t be more grateful for this opportunity and know that there are thousands of young people, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds who would thrive on an opportunity like this. 

The UK’s nature recovery targets will not succeed without a strong, skilled workforce to deliver them and with 2030 looming ever closer something has to change – and fast. By committing to introducing a National Nature Service, politicians would be opening the doors to a range of fulfilling careers, creating the opportunity for more dedicated and importantly, more diverse, hands working across the country to restore the natural world. This would be simultaneously an investment in people and nature – bring it on.

---

Notes to Editors

For more information please contact: media@groundwork.org.uk

About New to Nature

New to Nature will offer new, full-time, temporary work placements in nature and landscape organisations across the UK, aiming to increase diversity and enrich the environmental sector.

Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of the celebrations to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the King’s Coronation, the programme will run until September 2024 and will provide paid work placements for at least 95 people, targeting young people from diverse backgrounds to undertake a range of environmental roles.

New to Nature is delivered through a partnership of Groundwork, The Prince’s Trust, Disability Rights UK, and Mission Diverse. We are working closely with the Youth Environmental Service to ensure the programme acts as a stepping stone for a longer-term journey of change in the sector: www.groundwork.org.uk/projects/new-to-nature/