Project Roadmap
A timeline to creating a corridor
Weald to Waves is a complex endeavour to establish a nature recovery corridor, from the High Weald to the Sussex coast. To achieve this, Weald to Waves will be an ever-growing partnership with its development led by the farmers, land managers, community networks, organisations, and individuals along the 100-mile corridor route.
The role of Weald to Waves includes establishing a framework that facilitates the work and collaboration of our partners and pledges, to support nature recovery that maximises the connectivity of habitats in Sussex.
Below is a description of what the project has already achieved so far, and what we will achieve over the next year, and beyond.
The birth of Weald to Waves: creating a movement
Timeline: 2021 to 2022
Summary: In the midst of a global biodiversity emergency, with the issue of habitat fragmentation becoming increasingly publicly recognised and urgent, a new group of farmers, landowners and conservationists came together on one of the last undeveloped stretches of coastline in Sussex.
Their discussions sparked an aspirational corridor to improve habitat connectivity for wildlife, from the Ashdown Forest in the High Weald to the coast and the recovering Sussex kelp forests.
Find out more about how the project was born here .
What have we Achieved?
Phase One: Making the Invisible Visible
Timeline: Autumn 2022 to Spring 2023
Summary: to target the project’s efforts, this phase needed to set out a clear geographical scope to encourage pledges along a clear corridor. The route of the corridor joined together the original partners, and enabled us to identify the ecological and social issues that the corridor needs to tackle.
With all of this new information brought together, we created a digital platform to allow people to explore the project, including interactive maps, and a method to encourage new pledges.
Key Milestones:
· Map the project boundaries including a core route to prioritise nature connectivity, and a radiant zone that prioritises engagement with people.
· Map data that illustrates the ecological and social pressures and opportunities within the corridor.
· Identify nature recovery and conservation projects around the corridor.
· Establish a project website that supports public engagement with Weald to Waves.
· Create interactive maps that enable people to explore the Corridor.
· Establish robust processes for accepting pledges to the project.
What are we doing now?
Phase Two: Join the Corridor, Join the Dots
Timeline: Spring 2023 onwards
Summary: With the public-facing side of Weald to Waves firmly established, we are now on a drive to grow our partners and pledges.
This phase includes our pledges growing into three distinct groups: Farmers and Landowners, Gardens and Greenspaces, and Community Networks, including new partners and ambassadors for the project, while the opportunities offered to each of these pledges is growing rapidly.
We are also taking the first steps towards action in the corridor, with early habitat creation schemes and monitoring all starting to take shape.
The area of our pledges now equals 15% of the corridor, covering over 12,600 hectares. While this is a huge achievement, this phase will always be ongoing as we grow our network, join landscape parcels and establish a continuous corridor of pledged land.
Key Milestones:
· Engaging with a range of landowners, managers and other stakeholders to encourage pledges and establish a network of partnerships.
· Mapping new pledges along the corridor.
· Establishing Project Ambassadors and Community Champions to increase the visibility of Weald to Waves in the corridor.
· Identify funding to support the ongoing development of the project and pledges.
What will we achieve?
Phase Three: Aspiration to Action
Timeline: Spring 2025 onwards
Summary: this phase will focus on turning the previous work establishing tools and frameworks, into measurable action for nature recovery around the corridor.
This includes connecting together land managers and projects, to support new and ongoing habitat creation and enhancement work in pledged land. This phase will be the first step in projects ranging from local habitat creation to major infrastructure works to improve connectivity in the landscape.
This phase will also see the beginning of our work on monitoring the ecological change along the corridor, through both our expert partners, and through citizen scientists in the landscape.
Key Milestones:
· Identify flagship conservation projects as focal points along the corridor, to inspire similar action amongst pledges.
· Provide pledges with bespoke advice on appropriate actions for nature recovery.
· Collect baselining survey data from pledges using a range of digital tools, and creating bespoke advice for each pledge based on this information.
· Trial an ecological monitoring programme, through expert surveyors and citizen scientists, for key points along the corridor.
· Modelling and mapping connectivity for target wildlife species along the corridor, to inform habitat creation.
Phase Four: Governance and Sustainability
Estimated Timeline: Autumn 2025 to Spring 2026
Summary: this phase will include establishing an organisational structure and governance for Weald to Waves, to build on action in the corridor and ensure the project’s continuing success.
This will include appointing a chairman and steering committee for Weald to Waves, to represent our partners and their expertise in key decision-making, and to develop ongoing strategies.
Key Milestones:
· Establish governance structure.
· Establish a sustainable long-term project framework.
Phase Five: Sustainability and Scale
Estimated Timeline: 2026 and beyond
Summary: this phase will prioritise ensuring the longevity of Weald to Waves, as a long-term project that will support nature recovery in a dynamic corridor over a timescale of many decades.
This will mean developing our existing frameworks with the support of a new governance structure, while increasing the representation of Weald to Waves as a major national project.
Key Milestones:
· Establish sustainable funding streams and long term governance for Weald to Waves.
This workflow will help to ensure the success and longevity of Weald to Waves, to successfully increase connectivity for wildlife and support nature recovery along the corridor route. These phases illustrate areas of particular focus at different times of the project, but these areas of focus are not exclusive to each phase. The nature of the project demands a dynamic approach with many different simultaneous areas of focus, using connectivity to drive nature recovery.
