Landscapes, parks and nature

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.

Mae merch yn dal wystrys brodorol gan y loch

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

What we fund

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

What we fund

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

3) A visitor using a mobility scooter in the Wellbeing Garden at RHS Garden Wisley

The Wellbeing Garden is one of the many spaces with improved accessibility at RHS Garden Wisley.

Stories

RHS Garden Wisley elevates accessibility and participation through collaborative initiatives

Wisley set out to increase the physical accessibility of their spaces, but with commitment and help from partners their journey led them down a much more ambitious path.

Adults with complex care needs in a garden

It can be hard for people with complex disabilities and medical conditions to access nature and heritage.

Projects

Sense’s project blossoms in National Trust gardens

‘Internal Gardens’ used wearable technology to help people with complex disabilities create tactile connections with natural heritage.

28/04/2022

The Horniman Museum featuring a clock tower stands tall behind greenery

The clock tower of the Horniman Museum

News

Visit our Habitats of Hope exhibition at the Horniman Museum

From 30 November–10 December we are showcasing inspiring heritage projects that have enabled the survival of some of the UK’s rarest animal species, thanks to National Lottery support.

30/11/2023

A person walks on a path under trees and next to a lake in summer

Improving access to parks and green space.

News

Two awards for a programme putting nature at the heart of thriving urban places

The Future Parks Accelerator programme, a joint initiative with the National Trust, has won Social Project of the Year and the prestigious Overall Project of the Year Award.

21/11/2023

Three people are looking at worksheets and smiling.

Participants at the residential event in June 2023, as part of Heritage Trade Up.

Stories

Five tips for more robust and innovative heritage organisations

Hear from the organisations who took part in our Business Support and Enterprise campaign about how they improved organisational resilience in challenging times.

Three people sit on the edge of a loch in Scotland, with a boat in the background and the award in front of them

Danny Renton (left) and members of the Seawilding team with their National Lottery Award.

Projects

Seawilding – restoring native oysters and seagrass in Loch Craignish

The UK’s first community-led native oyster and seagrass restoration project is aiming to restore lost biodiversity to the Scottish coastline.

05/03/2020

A flying bat in the roof space of a church

A Natterer's bat flying inside the roof of St Lawrence church, Radstone. Credit: Chris Damant, Bernwood Ecology.

Stories

All creatures great and small: helping church communities care for their bats

The Bats in Churches project helped over 100 ancient churches in England with their resident bats, bringing communities together and learning more about our threatened bat species.

Group of people wearing hard hats in a courtyard of historic building, Alice Billings House in Stratford

Alice Billings House. Includes Newham’s Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz, Taryn Nixon and Selina Papa from the Heritage Fund, Creative Land Trust and Purcell’s team.

News

£800,000 funding awarded to support Newham’s heritage

From restoring an 1880s playhouse to creating a cycling heritage trail, projects across Newham will celebrate its diverse community heritage and create pride in place.

25/10/2023