CPRE Oxfordshire is marking its centenary with the launch of a new community-focused initiative aimed at restoring meadows and strengthening connections between people and the natural environment.
The project, titled Love Your Countryside, will begin in and around Kidlington, where efforts will focus on rejuvenating neglected grasslands, boosting biodiversity, and providing residents with opportunities to engage directly with nature close to home.
The initiative forms part of the charity’s 100-year commitment to protecting and enhancing the countryside.
Kidlington lies within the Oxford Green Belt, a protected landscape covering more than 250 square miles around the city. This area plays a vital role in supporting the wellbeing of over 166,000 people across Oxfordshire, offering benefits such as improved mental and physical health, climate resilience, flood mitigation, and local food security.
Despite these advantages, the countryside faces increasing pressure. Expanding housing demand, infrastructure projects, and transport development are contributing to the gradual loss and fragmentation of meadows and other grassland habitats.
While development remains essential to meeting local needs, concerns persist about the long-term impact on the environment and the ecosystem services it provides.
Through Love Your Countryside, CPRE Oxfordshire aims to place local communities at the centre of nature recovery. Residents in Kidlington and surrounding areas will be invited to take part in ecological surveys, learn traditional land management skills such as scything, and work alongside experienced practitioners to restore and care for green spaces.
“Connection precedes protection,” said Lisa Warne, Director of CPRE Oxfordshire. “Starting this project in Kidlington allows us to bring people closer to the countryside on their doorstep. When people experience and understand these landscapes, they are far more likely to value and protect them.”
The launch coincides with strong public support for countryside protection. Recent polling indicates that 86 per cent of Britons support the Green Belt, while three-quarters of young people favour increased protection of the UK’s countryside. Additionally, 85 per cent of adults report that nature positively impacts their happiness and wellbeing.
To support the initiative, CPRE Oxfordshire is participating in the Big Give Earth Raise campaign. Donations made during the launch week, from 22 to 29 April, will be doubled up to £10,000, helping to fund restoration work and community engagement activities.
“As we begin this work in Kidlington, we are reminded that the countryside is not distant or separate — it is part of daily life,” Lisa Warne added. “Protecting it starts with helping people connect to it, understand it, and feel part of it.”
CPRE Oxfordshire is the local branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, working to promote, enhance, and protect Oxfordshire’s countryside and rural communities. Through advocacy, community engagement, and hands on conservation, CPRE Oxfordshire champions a thriving, sustainable countryside for all.
