A trailblazing nature project in Surrey has come to a successful end after three years, leaving behind over 60 hectares of restored pollinator habitat and a blueprint for the future of wildlife monitoring.

Space4Nature was one of the first-ever projects to use a combination of satellite observation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and citizen science.

The News & Mail was the first to announce the ground-breaking project in January 2023 here in “Out and About”, and we’ve reported its activities successes several times since.

Space4Nature hasn’t just restored habitats – it has laid the groundwork for a new generation of nature recovery in Surrey and beyond.

Space4Nature was a collaboration between the wildlife charity Buglife, Surrey Wildlife Trust, the University of Surrey and Painshill Park, and was funded by People’s Postcode Lottery’s Dream Fund. It brought new technologies and approaches to nature recovery, combining high-resolution satellite imagery, citizen science and machine learning to revolutionise how we understand and monitor habitats.

The three-year project has delivered over 60 hectares of enhanced pollinator-friendly habitat across 22 sites throughout Surrey. These include some of the county’s most important chalk grassland, wetland and heathland habitat. The sites include Chobham Common, Unstead wetland reserve, Sheepleas and Puttenham Common.

It also provided over £100,000 to connect Buglife’s B-Lines, which are these are a network of insect pathways that thread through the countryside, creating connections and hope for the UK’s wildlife.

Buglife Conservation Officer Peter Hewetson explained: “Creating and connecting new invertebrate-friendly habitat along our B-Lines is essential to support some of our most threatened species.”

Restoration work took place on vineyards, orchards, churchyards, playing fields, road verges and private gardens, as well as on larger, established nature reserves already managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust.

Each site owner signed a 10-year management agreement and received a bespoke habitat management plan packed with expertise in invertebrate conservation. This ensures these habitats will be cared for in the long-term now Space4Nature has ended.

Much of the practical work – wildflower seeding, scrub clearance, hedge planting and pond creation – was carried out by local volunteers working alongside Buglife’s Conservation Officers.

Ongoing management will use traditional techniques, including conservation grazing with cattle, sheep and goats, many of the animals having been fitted with “no-fence” GPS collars: these define their roaming boundaries without physical fences and hedgerows.

Beyond the habitat work, the project broke new ground in how nature is monitored. By training 350 volunteers in vegetation and invertebrate surveys and feeding the data into machine learning models alongside satellite imagery, the Space4Nature team has developed a unique predictive model for grassland and lowland heathland habitats.

When peer-reviewed findings are published in scientific journals, the resulting habitat maps will be freely available, putting powerful conservation intelligence into the hands of anyone who needs it.

The project also engaged with local communities, including schools, landowners, community groups and Surrey Nature Partnerships, in over 150 events. In total, 110 landowners were brought into the fold – a testament to the power of showing people what thriving nature on their doorstep can look like.

Space4Nature’s legacy is already taking shape: Buglife is launching Chalk Lines, a new project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Chalk Lines focuses on the Surrey Hills National Landscape and continues Buglife’s partnership with Surrey Wildlife Trust.

Its target is the recovery of seven threatened species of butterfly, moth, bee and beetle, while also strengthening community involvement.

Rest assured, we’ll be reporting details of the Chalk Lines project here in “Out and About” in the future!