Mobilising Nature
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Programme Summary
Our transport network is vital for people and the economy, but it can also fragments habitats, block wildlife movement, and increase light, noise, and water pollution. Our ‘Mobilising Nature’ theme combines research, mapping and practical interventions to reconnect nature across roads and rail.
The programme will:
- Develop a regional strategy to mitigate transport severance impacts on wildlife.
- Retrofit and design new infrastructure to include green bridges, underpasses and wildlife tunnels.
- Create dormouse bridges to reconnect fragmented woodland populations.
- Work with landowners to create tailored management plans and bring sites into active conservation
- Install mammal ledges in culverts to help species like otters.
Why it matters:
- The West of England has over 3,000 miles of road, including major stretches of the M4, M5 and M32.
- Roads and railways act as barriers, fragmenting habitats and isolating populations – weakening ecological resilience to climate change.
- Impacts extend hundreds of metres either side of infrastructure, affecting water, air and light quality.
- Hundreds of thousands of animals are killed on UK roads each year.
- Build an evidence base through data gathering, mapping and monitoring.
Get Involved
We are looking to work with transport bodies, local authorities, ecologists, universities, community groups and infrastructure partners to better understand and reduce the impacts of transport severance on wildlife. There are opportunities to support evidence gathering, monitoring, mapping and the development of practical solutions that help reconnect habitats across the region’s road and rail networks.
Lead contact: Matthew Lipton, South Gloucestershire Council
