Building with Nature Biodiversity Seminar Greenbelt staff recently attended a 2-day Biodiversity seminar delivered by Building with Nature, exploring the relationship between green spaces, nature and planning law. More than 25 members of Greenbelt’s Operations, Customer Care, Legal and Senior Management teams attended the event, which included a series of talks, presentations, and guided discussion led by Building with Nature Director Dr. Gemma Jerome. The seminar focused on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) - an approach which aims to leave the natural environment in a measurably healthier and more diverse state than before - and how this can be applied to new and existing residential housing developments and urban green spaces. Many Local Authorities across England are looking closely at BNG as a way to measure the ecological health of a place, with a +10% net increase in biodiversity anticipated to be incorporated into standard planning requirements in future. Building with Nature’s updated Standards Framework 2.0, launched in 2021, sets out a long-term 12-point plan for improving BNG in four key areas including water, wildlife and public wellbeing. These encourage builders, developers and land managers to consider such aspects as the connectivity of open spaces, maximising environmental gains, and bringing nature closer to people. Greenbelt Managing Director Colin Thomson said: “The seminar was very interesting, and reflects Greenbelt’s commitment to continually upskilling in order to meet new challenges and continue to be an industry leader. “Many of the concepts within the Building with Nature framework are already very familiar to us, and this serves to underline Greenbelt’s existing work with respect to biodiversity and sustainable long-term stewardship is the correct approach. “Our Sustainability and Biodiversity Manager, Gordon Millar, will continue to work in this dedicated role alongside Building with Nature to support our staff and clients in delivering vibrant, nature-filled open spaces.” Dr Jerome said: “We put nature at the heart of development, in a way that’s good for people and wildlife. Our mission is to make high-quality green infrastructure integral to place-making in the UK, maximising its benefits for both citizens and the natural world. “The Building with Nature Standards provide planners and developers with evidence-based guidance on delivering high-quality green infrastructure, and show what ‘good’ looks like at each stage of the development process. “Using our Standards, and supported by best-practice guidance, planning authorities, professional experts, and developers are delivering high-quality green infrastructure. “The Building with Nature benchmark continues to lead the way in defining high-quality green infrastructure for the built environment industry in the UK.” Previous article: National Gardening Week Prev Next article: The Buntings Jubilee Tree Next