Wildlife conservation

From the birds in our gardens to the plants and mammals in our woodlands, biodiversity is the variety of life all around us. Our borough has a fantastic variety of habitats such as ancient woodlands, calcareous grassland and iconic chalk rivers that support a wealth of wildlife. We are lucky enough to have species such as the dormouse, natterer's bat, Dartford warblers, white-letter hairstreak butterflies and large populations of great crested newts right on our doorstep.

With climate change, pollution, habitat loss and invasive species, our natural wildlife is being challenged in all sorts of complex ways. By recording where species are and how their numbers are changing over time, we can:

detect early signs of population decline
monitor the health of ecosystems
shape and inform conservation efforts and policies
engage with our natural environment

Every record helps build a bigger picture – and that picture becomes more accurate with your help! You can share pictures with us so we can use them to help spread the word - send an image and the location, and a bit about what you have found by emailing wildlifeconservation@basingstoke.gov.uk.

Conservation - Birds

Conservation - Slow-worm

Further information

How you can help

Whether you’re looking for ad-hoc, short term surveys, or want to make it a regular hobby, there’s something to suit everyone. You don’t need to be an expert to help as most surveys come with identification guides with online communities ready to help you with any questions. This is a fantastic way to connect and learn more about nature. So, grab your notebook or phone, head outside and start exploring. The wildlife in your local area is waiting to be discovered – and protected – by people just like you.

Join a wildlife survey

PTES: Living with Mammals – Help monitor wild mammals in urban areas by recording sightings around your home, garden, or local green spaces.
Hedgehog Street: BIG Hedgehog Map – Add your hedgehog sightings to a national map to help track and protect this much-loved species.
UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme: PoMS – Chose between a 10 minute pollinator count or a 1km square for systematic surveys and help to gather data on our pollinating insects
RSPB: Together We Fly – Stay up-to-date with the RSPB and receive tips on how to help wildlife and get involved with surveys such as their Big Garden Birdwatch
Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland: Recording Activities – For Flora identification, keep an eye on the BSBI website for updates and current projects such as Target Plants for Beginners
Butterfly Conservation: Big Butterfly Count – Take 15 minutes to count butterflies and day-flying moths in your area to help monitor their populations across the UK.
The Wildlife Trust: Wildlife Gardening Survey – Share what wildlife-friendly features are in your garden and help build a picture of how green spaces support nature. Need help improving your score? Why not contact our Green Team and book a free garden survey to receive tips and advice on how to encourage nature to your garden.
Hampshire County Council: Pollinators Pledge – an initiative aimed at Hampshire residents to take part in improving our environment for pollinators.

Upload your sighting to iRecord

iRecord is a free, easy-to-use platform that lets you record wildlife sightings and share them with experts. Whether you’ve spotted a hedgehog in your garden or a rare butterfly on a walk, every record you submit helps build a better picture of UK biodiversity. Your observations are verified by experts and added to national databases, where they support research and conservation. It’s a simple way to turn your love of nature into real imp.

Access iRecord website, or download the app on your phone for IOS or Android.

Access the iRecord user guide

Wildlife gardening

Thinking of giving your garden a makeover, then why not:

plant nectar rich flowers or native trees that will look attractive and provide food and shelter for bees, butterflies, birds and mammals
create a small pond to encourage dragonflies and damselflies and provide a home for toads, frogs and newts
plant trees such as rowan or hawthorn will attract interesting birds to your garden during cold winter months

Your garden doesn’t need to be a fully-fledged nature reserve to be a place that helps our native wildlife to thrive and plants to grow.

Our Green Team offer a free garden survey for tips and ideas on how you can nurture a garden that encourages nature and helps to capture carbon to tackle climate change.

What we are doing

We’re taking biodiversity seriously, proactively using planning, strategies and management with targeted actions that safeguard our natural landscape. Working closely with a variety of stakeholders to deliver meaningful outcomes on the ground. Whether it’s managing habitats or guiding sustainable development, our goal is to ensure biodiversity continues to improve across the borough. Take a look below for more information on our actions and how you can get involved.

Strategy for Nature

In 2021, we declared an Ecological Emergency, an issue that is important in the future wellbeing of our borough. It set out a number of matters to protect and enhance biodiversity, most importantly of which is the adoption of our Biodiversity Strategy, published in 2024. It lays out a clear vision to protect and improve the borough’s natural spaces, which will also help us achieve its strengthened obligations brought in by the Environment Act (2021). Our Biodiversity Strategy lays out a clear vision to protect and improve the borough’s natural spaces, in response to the Environment Act 2021.

Our objectives include work to:

support rare and threatened species
reconnect wildlife corridors
make biodiversity a core part of local planning

Biodiversity Audit

We commissioned a Biodiversity Audit of the borough, produced by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust which highlights that we have some fantastic biodiversity features of real importance in the borough but we need to do more for our heathlands and wetlands and all their associated species.

Find a full version of the Biodiversity Audit on our Natural Environment page in the Biodiversity Strategy section

Working with Natural Basingstoke

We’re proud to work alongside our community partner, Natural Basingstoke. They’re a passionate volunteer-led group that empowers local people to care for wildlife around the borough. Together, we support habitat restoration, run community nature events, and gather the data we need to make smart decisions for nature.

There’s always something going on! Visit the Natural Basingstoke website or take a look at our Conservation Groups and Green Space Volunteering webpage to find out more about events and conservation groups near you.

Additional resources

View our pages Local Parks and Open Spaces and Conservation and Wildlife events and these external resources

Natural History Museum: The Urban Nature Project Survey Calendar
Merlin: Bird Identification App
Wildlife Trust: How to Identify and Citizen Science Projects
Forest Research: Biosecurity in our Woodlands