A step forward for nature recovery in social housing

The Biodiversity in Housing Network (BHN) webinar, held on Wednesday 24 September 2025 brought together housing providers, environmental specialists, Non-Government Organisations (NGO’s) and grant funders to explore practical approaches to incorporating biodiversity in housing. Sessions like this align closely with the Greenoak Centre of Excellence’s (GCOE) purpose: to act as a hub for sharing best practice and fostering collaborating across the sector. In that spirit, we’re using the GCOE platform to highlight the key takeaways from the event. Below, BHN chair and Climate Change Resilience Manager at Stonewater, Suzanne Le Sauvage talks through the session so that the learning can continue to make an impact.

The Biodiversity in Housing Network (BHN) convenes representatives from housing associations, sharing best practice, opportunities and challenges that tackle the biodiversity crisis. We meet virtually every 6 weeks and run in person events and tours twice a year. This session provided invaluable insights that will no doubt shape future nature recovery projects.

Over the course of the two-hour event, attendees were able to engage with a panel of experts who shared innovative strategies and real-world examples from across the sector. The session proved to be a fantastic resource for professionals working in estates, development, assets and community facing teams.

I had the pleasure of kick starting this session and it was then expertly led by Sam Jones, Director at The Green Partnership who guided the discussions with a clear vision of how we can embed biodiversity into the way we manage our estates.

The webinar covered four main themes featuring a range of guest speakers with extensive knowledge in biodiversity and housing, each offering unique perspectives with the key takeaways including:

1. ‘How we measure success’. Jo Crouch, Environmental Sustainability Manager and Cloe Curtis-Dunn, Green Spaces Improvement Officer at Orbit Group provided a deep dive into how to effectively measure and assess biodiversity impacts on green spaces. Attendees learned how to set benchmarks, track progress and use biodiversity metrics to guide their projects. Becky Ritchie, Head of Sustainability at Clarion Group discussed the role of large housing associations in driving sustainability at scale. And Ian Jelley, Director of Landscape Recovery at Warwickshire Wildlife Trust provided insights on how measuring and monitoring biodiversity successfully can really make a difference to us all.
2. ‘Grant Funding – What Good Looks Like’. Roger Pearson, Trustee at the Community Forest Trust spoke about how urban tree planting can transform landscapes, support communities, improve biodiversity and make us more resilient to climate change. Daveen Wallis, Director of Engagement and Empowerment at Lancashire Wildlife Trust highlighted how housing associations can benefit and have benefitted from the Greater Manchester Environment Trust (GMET) which funds green space improvements.
3. ‘Small Actions, Big Impact’. Joe Heath, Director of Environment and Biodiversity at English Estates showed us how simple biodiversity interventions like ‘No Mow May’ can make a big difference for nature and communities.
4. ‘Nature-Positive Specifications’. Paul Cassidy, Ecology and Conservation Manager from Meadfleet highlighted the approach they take to managing land for housing associations and clearly demonstrated how more nature friendly management specifications can benefit not just wildlife but also local communities.

Moving forward

We will be seeking feedback from attendees on how we can shape future events. We know that we can successfully demonstrate that integrating biodiversity into social housing is not only achievable but also vital for creating more sustainable and resilient communities. We hope that attendees left the session with a deeper understanding of how to take immediate steps to improve biodiversity within their organisations, from securing funding to implementing simple interventions that will make a lasting difference.

We encourage everyone who attended to continue the conversation within their organisations, sharing knowledge gained and applying the strategies discussed. If you would like to be part of the BHN then please reach out.