Celebrating nature recovery: Capturing Biodiversity Net Gain from your viewpoint

Local communities are being invited to see biodiversity recovery in action as Ground Control Evergreen celebrates a new wave of public engagement at its flagship Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) habitat banks.

Since 2021, the environmental investment arm of Ground Control has been transforming former arable land into thriving habitats teeming with wildlife. Today, those sites, including the Wildfell Habitat Bank in north Essex and Devana Habitat Bank in Cambridgeshire, stand as living examples of how the UK’s 10% biodiversity net gain requirement, introduced in 2024, can deliver far more than regulatory compliance.

Your viewpoint: Local eyes on nature

To showcase nature’s recovery, engage residents and help communities experience this transformation first-hand,  Ground Control Evergreen has installed viewfinder points along public footpaths bordering its sites. These viewpoints encourage walkers to pause, admire, and photograph the changing landscapes, capturing nature's seasonal changes from their own unique viewpoints. 

Here's a snapshot from October, showcasing the contrasts as seasonal change approaches our Wildfell and Devana habitat banks:

 Chris Bawtree, Nature Recovery Director at Ground Control Evergreen, said:

A Closer Look: Wildfell Habitat Bank

Located near Wethersfield in the Braintree District of north Essex, the 296-acre Wildfell site was the first major acquisition by the Evergreen Fund,  a £5 million investment vehicle created by Ground Control to finance nature-based projects and environmental innovation.

Purchased in August 2021, Wildfell has since been transformed from environmentally degraded farmland into a mosaic of woodland, scrub, grassland, orchards, hedgerows, and wetlands, offering approximately 383 off-site BNG units for developers seeking high-quality biodiversity offsets.

The site’s proximity to the River Pant enhances its ecological diversity, supporting ponds, streams, and floodplain habitats that are now attracting a wide range of species.

In 2024, Wildfell opened a new Education Barn, providing a dedicated hub for environmental learning and community engagement. Earlier this year, it also became one of the first UK habitat banks to secure a Conservation Covenant (ConCov), with wildlife charity Plantlife acting as the Responsible Body, a legal framework ensuring ecological integrity and management for decades to come.

Wildfell and its sister site, Devana, are both certified under Plantlife’s Standard for Biodiversity Improvement, a benchmark requiring annual recertification for at least 30 years, guaranteeing independent oversight and long-term habitat quality.

Devana: Expanding the Vision

Get Involved: Share Your Viewpoint