Derby City Council (DCC) is a local government organisation which currently employs over 5000 people across a wide range of public services. The DCC Parks and Green Spaces Team oversee implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) across all city council activities and that of its partners.
DCC declared a climate emergency in 2019, and this is currently informing how all future development in the city takes place. The DCC Parks and Green Spaces Team use this strategy (and others like it) to engage and empower communities to support and implement nature-based solutions in their locality. The Team employs around 80 people and contains the Ranger Service and Ground Maintenance Service.
David Winslow is Green Spaces and Biodiversity Manager at the Parks and Green Spaces Team and is currently one of twelve Project and Development Team members. David defines NBS as ‘helping kick start nature’, thereby enabling nature to provide solutions to environmental problems.
The Parks and Green Spaces Team has been at the forefront of instigating changes to green internal processes and systems. For example, introducing recycling bins, which have then been rolled out across the council. The team is also managing external partners to champion NBS solutions and environmentally friendly practices in the city of Derby.
Nature-based Solutions
Derby City Council has instigated many nature-based solution initiatives across the city and further. Most notable of these is Allestree Park Community Rewilding project, conducted in collaboration with the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and the University of Derby.
Nominated for Keep Britain Tidy's Climate Action Award in 2025, this nationally significant project has returned a former golf course back to nature by engaging the local community, creating an outdoor space dedicated to high quality natural habitats for use as recreation and an educational resource.
Other projects include introducing cattle grazing in an existing scrub habitat as a land management strategy and rewilding along the river near industrialised areas. The council is also in the process of changing policy to enable the adoption of green and blue infrastructure strategies and biodiversity action plans.
In addition, the teams are introducing sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) across the locality to mitigate flooding. Part of this uses specific plant species to reduce the number of pollutants entering water courses. The approach is to based helping nature to engage natural processes to tackle climate change challenges.
Nature-based solutions projects
Examples of NBS project instigated by the DCC include:
- Allestree Park Community Rewilding Project.
- Sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) across the locality to mitigate flooding.
- Ghost Wood restoration and conservation initiative in Spondon.
- Using cattle grazing as a habitat management tool at Nutwood Nature Reserve.
- Creating a Nature Reserve in the scrubland at Pride Park.
- Rewilding industrial areas along the river from Pride Park to Alvaston, using existing industrial structures to create ponds and other wildlife habitats.
NBS Approach
Collaboration is embedded in the Parks and Green Spaces Team practice, and there are numerous friends' groups – such as the Friends of Alvaston Park – who act as custodians of specific areas and have the Parks and Green Spaces Team as their connection to the council. This form of multi-stakeholder collaboration strengthens NBS initiatives as it broadens the knowledge and skills base available within each project. It also influences the direction of NBS projects to the greater benefit of local communities.
The common theme in all best practice NBS engagement strategies is talking to people.
“That sums up the Allestree Rewilding project in a nutshell... because it is ground-breaking, but we've just done a lot of the simple things and just engaged with people and that's the secret.”
The NBS approach adopted by the Derby City Council has the following elements:
2. Environmental knowledge and awareness
“Just the education side of it, having these significant projects that keep people talking about it good and bad because it's not all rosy. It's still in people's minds and even those negative conversations about it, it's still a conversation. And you can still educate and say, well, actually that's not necessarily factually correct, and you can have a healthy debate about that.”
3. Dedicated community engagement team
“They all come together to form the Derby Green Spaces Forum and that's quite a large collective voice. It's a good example of green space groups championing certain things. So, it's like - it's not just what we feel professionally, it's actually a community voice behind us as well.”
4. Working with and co-ordinating volunteer groups
“There's in Derby, where it's a nice problem to have, friends' groups and volunteer groups just popping up here, there and everywhere and it's brilliant. But they need managing... So [we are] the people in the background doing risk assessments, organising tools, doing little funding bids and just that support. So, the volunteers can just turn up and do some good stuff on a park or green space.”
5. Engaging local businesses in NBS initiatives
“Some businesses go direct to friends' groups, some businesses come direct to us and we enable the volunteer activity. Again, it all comes down to capacity. But I can guarantee of the four parks officers that are on the team, there'll be at least one of them out doing a volunteer activity with a business every week.... we just see it as part of our social duty.”
NBS Barriers
According to Derby City Council, the barriers to NBS implementation include:
Lack of understanding and awareness of what NBS looks like
Resistance and criticism from internal teams not directly dealing with nature and the environment could limit NBS initiatives. The leaving of deadwood in public parks and allowing some areas to grow semi-wild to support wildlife habitats are good examples of how attitudes to NBS intervention has changed over time. Initially, these practices were viewed as a ‘lazy’ approach to park management and required knowledge sharing about the benefits of these practices amongst wider DCC teams and management before they were fully accepted. Internal attitudes have now changed, but it took time to shift these perceptions.
Lack of focus and definition of scope of NBS activities
It was suggested that this was mainly because nature can mean multiple things to multiple communities. Whilst this can be a strength in terms of engaging people, it can also mean how it is approached and managed is regularly shifting.
Under resourcing of NBS
The success of NBS implementation is about correctly resourcing it, and to do this it is important to see the wider impact NBS management approaches have. Companies who consider NBS from a business transactional perspective do not generally appreciate or understand the importance of NBS from a ‘social duty’ perspective.
NBS Enablers
Enablers to NBS implementation at Derby City Council are:
Passion for better natural environment
It is the passion of the individuals within the team itself that drive NBS implementation across the Derby City area. This passion is evident in the outreach and engagement the whole team engage in. It was noted that all environmental teams, not just those within DCC, are comprised of people who are passionate about the environment.
Defining and delivering tangible outcomes of NBS
Linking NBS with tangible outcomes and direct impacts, that can be easily understood in individual contexts, encourages businesses to adopt NBS themselves. For example, within Derby City, many business premises are next to the river and can be affected by flooding. Demonstrating how the management of green spaces and the introduction of NBS can support flood management and reduce the risk of flood damage provides a direct link from NBS intervention to an outcome that fulfils an immediate, observable and measurable need.
Knowledge sharing and education
Internally, sharing knowledge about the reasoning behind NBS practices has helped them become accepted across DCC departments. For example, whilst leaving deadwood in park areas initially drew criticism, now it is accepted because the reasons behind this practice have been shared across the organisation. This has seen a culture shift as a result of education and knowledge sharing.
Executive support
Support from executive and directorial level within DCC was also identified as key, because it ensured the department was protected from political tensions both internally and externally. This support was evident through visible and consistent messaging, confidence building within the team and using the backing of policy and funding to mitigate any opposition.
Learning points about NBS implementation
- Engaging in NBS benefits the local community from a societal perspective, as well as bringing wider benefits to the environment. Socially integrating NBS addresses issues such as localised flooding whilst also providing green spaces for people to walk their dog and opportunities to connect with others.
- It’s important that NBS projects contain a tangible, visible element to help people understand the impact they have in a meaningful way to them. For example, when people can see local ponds dealing better with intense periods of rain because of NBS, then they are more likely to support other NBS initiatives in the future.
- Some NBS do come with an element of risk. For example, growing grasses long to increase carbon capture can become an increased fire hazard, and flood prevention strategies require there to be more bodies of water on recreational spaces, increasing the risk of accidents. However, these are relatively small public safety concerns that can be addressed by taking steps to mitigate their impact.
NBS implementation tips
- NBS interventions don’t have to be big and costly. Taking baby steps is a much better way to build NBS into daily practice.
- Taking that very first step is the most important thing. Things like adding bird and boxes and planting trees can all be done with relatively low cost and need no expertise. These small actions will kickstart the NBS conversations that will eventually grow into much bigger projects.
- Whether you are seeking to engage your workforce or the public, it's important to get them involved from the very start. It is their enthusiasm that will drive projects and ‘take them further than you’d even hoped. ’
- Connecting with the right people who can give you advice is key. This builds a community of mutual support and knowledge.
“It's the people that drive it (NBS); you'll find in Parks and Green Spaces teams - they're the passionate people who drive this."
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