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Landscapes, parks and nature

Landscapes, parks and nature

People landscaping in a Japanese garden in Scotland, with a mountain in the background.
Landscaping in the Japanese Garden at Cowden, Scotland. Credit: Devlin Photo Ltd.
Looking after nature and helping people to understand its importance has never been more vital.

Since 1994 we have awarded over £2.1billion of National Lottery and other funding to more than 4,900 land, nature and biodiversity projects across the UK. 

Protecting the environment is one of our four Heritage 2033 investment principles. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. 

We are prioritising landscape and nature projects that:

  • support nature’s recovery
  • deliver nature-based solutions to address climate change
  • reconnect people to landscapes, marine environments and nature

The climate crisis

The heritage sector has an important role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling climate change. Find out more about what we're doing to tackle the climate crisis.

What we expect from projects we fund

We want all kinds of heritage project, large and small, to:

  • limit any potential damage on the environment
  • make a positive impact on the environment and particularly for nature

Read our environmental sustainability guidance.

How to get funding

Our National Lottery Heritage Grants funding programme is open, providing grants from £10,000 up to £10million.

Explore our available funding

Find out more

Discover what projects we fund, and what you could do with our investment to help protect our natural world.

A child holds a butterfly while a guide smiles at him

 

We support projects that conserve and enhance habitats and protect and preserve the UK's precious species.

What we fund

Romney Marsh

We expect successful projects to show how they will address the key challenges faced by the UK's landscapes and nature.

What we fund

Green roof of cafe

Public parks are facing a severe reduction in funding from local authorities. This is how we can help your parks and urban green spaces.

What we fund

The UK is world renowned for its wealth of historic designed parks, gardens and cemeteries. Here's how our funding can help look after them.

What we fund
Three people standing in a field of wild flowers, one is bending down touching the flowers
Drew Bennellick, our Head of Land, Sea and Nature, and Harriet Bennett, Land Management Officer for the Chilterns Landscape Partnership project, with Andrew Stubbings, of Manor Farm, an example of a connected landscape.

News

£150million funding to enhance and protect the UK’s world-class landscapes

Our strategic initiative, Landscape Connections, will support long-term projects to boost nature recovery and connect more people to our most treasured landscapes.
A group of people some wearing high-vis jackets stand together in front of a round house made from wood with a thatch roof
Some of the team stand in front of the newly completed roundhouses.

Stories

Case study: The Scottish Crannog Centre

The local community and natural environment are central to this sustainable museum, joint winner of Sustainable Project of the Year at the Museums + Heritage Awards 2024.
People looking at display cases in a mezzanine gallery.
Meet the Changemakers event on Manchester Museum Top Floor. Credit: Manchester Museum.

Stories

Case study: Roots and Branches

Joint winners of the Sustainable Project of the Year Award at the Museums + Heritage Awards 2024, Manchester Museum and Museum Development England, share their tips for growing a Carbon Literate museum community.
People walking in a park
Parks for Health project Camden and Islington.

Basic Page

Future Parks Accelerator

An initiative set up to secure the future of the UK’s urban parks and green spaces.
A life-size bronze cast of a dinosaur skeleton in the new gardens surrounding the building
Fern the Diplodocus © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.

Projects

The Natural History Museum’s Urban Nature Project

The iconic London institution has reimagined five acres of gardens that surround the building into an accessible, biologically-diverse green space.

Three people are walking side by side in a pretty green landscape, they are talking and smiling
Harriet Bennett, Land Management Officer for the Chilterns Landscape Partnership project and Andrew Stubbings, of Manor Farm with Drew Bennellick, our Head of Land, Sea and Nature.

Projects

Chalk, Cherries and Chairs – Working together for the Chilterns

Over five years, the Chilterns Conservation Board worked with partners to engage communities, celebrate the rich heritage of the area and enhance habitats and wildlife.

Four members of the Froglife team stand around a newly built pond
The project is giving opportunities for local communities to get involved with nature on their doorstep.

Projects

London Blue Chain: creating thriving networks for nature

Along a historic walking route across southeast London, this project is creating a corridor of freshwater habitats and connecting local communities with their natural heritage.

Gardenining volunteers in the walled garden lookig after red roses
Volunteers tend to rose garden.

Projects

Saughton Park restoration project

The improved historic park in the south west of Edinburgh provides vital support for the community's wellbeing.

A couple of school children holding large flags in an empty building, accompanied by a giant puppet
Former dock worker Leslie Morgan (centre) and children from the Gateway Learning Academy schools (waving flags representing the Windrush generation), alongside Tilbury port's 16ft docker puppet, celebrate the Tilbury Riverside Station grant in the building that will be transformed into a creative community hub.

News

£30million awarded to 15 heritage projects ahead of our 30th birthday

In our latest round of funding decisions, we’ve given grants to transform a historic port, boost the habitat of freshwater pearl mussels, save a pub, revitalise a park and more.
Sun setting at the iconic Bowerman's Nose in Dartmoor
Bowerman's Nose, Dartmoor.

Projects

Our Common Cause: Upland Commons

A 25-partner project awarded £2.3million to secure the future of upland commons across four treasured landscapes for people and nature.

People building dry stone walls on a hillside on a sunny day
Building dry stone walls on Ynys Cybi. Credit: Ynys Cybi Landscape Partnership.

Projects

Ynys Cybi: Ynys i’w Thrysori - Our Island Gem

This project is addressing priorities identified by the local community to ensure the land and coast is enjoyed responsibly, and secured for future generations.

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