The National Lottery Heritage Fund (HLF), which provides BBOWT and the rest of The Wildlife Trusts (TWT) with a significant amount of funding, is running a public consultation on its strategic plan, which outlines how it will award money over the next decade.

The Wildlife Trusts, including BBOWT, are concerned that the Fund could give less priority to Landscapes, Parks and Nature funding, and we are urging our supporters to have their say. We have even provided some suggested responses to the consultation below to help you complete the survey.

In 2020–21, HLF gave £50 million to organisations like BBOWT to protect and expand our natural heritage. BBOWT alone received £239,000 of emergency support to help us keep working during the coronavirus pandemic, and we rely on HLF funding to help us continue our vital work restoring nature in our three counties.

The HLF does fantastic work supporting other sectors such as historic buildings, museums and industrial heritage. We don’t want this to stop, but we do want to make sure, in the midst of a climate and nature crisis, that funding for Landscapes, Parks and Nature remains one of the HLF's top priorities.

By creating more nature everywhere - which is what BBOWT does - we help create a landscape that is buffered against extreme weather, but also helps absorb more carbon from the atmosphere to tackle climate change in the longer term.

How should I answer the consultation?

These are some suggested responses to the survey questions, based on our own answers. You can copy and paste them if you like, adapt and personalise them, or just have a quick read to inform your own replies.

The HLF consultation website offers two surveys: one for people who work in the heritage sector (which takes about 30 minutes), and a shorter one for those who don't, but the information below can be used to reply to either survey.

Our position

Our planet is facing climate and nature crises, and it is essential that we take drastic action. These crises threaten all aspects of our lives: from food production to hygiene and safety, including all forms of built, cultural and natural heritage.

In order to safeguard the future of the Earth, we must protect our natural heritage as a priority: by restoring the living landscape, we can help adapt to climate change. Healthy landscapes buffer the human and natural worlds against extreme weather, and help tackle climate change because they have the potential to absorb more carbon.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has a huge opportunity to provide funding to help tackle these crises and adapt to the impact of climate change. We therefore urge HLF to maintain Landscapes, Parks and Nature as a top funding priority, to help protect all of our heritage.

The consultation closes at midnight on Monday 5 September. Respond to the survey here: https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/have-your-say