Map your Priorities for Nature

Priorities for Nature is a map-based information collection tool, somewhere you can share your ideas and priorities for nature.

In developing our opportunities for nature and determining areas that have the potential to become of importance for biodiversity, we will be pulling together information from many different sources. We will look to build on previous action and find areas where there are landowners interested in participating in nature recovery. We will speak with experts and review evidence, to identify where action is most needed and where it will deliver the greatest wins for nature. And we want to hear from you – the people of Kent – so that the strategy fully reflects the county’s aspirations.

The priorities for nature online mapping tool allows anyone and everyone to take part in the mapping element of the project – we want to hear where you would like to see nature recovery targeted, creating a wish list of locations for action that the project can draw on. Not all will feature in the final opportunities map but submitting the area you’d like to see included, and the nature recovery aspirations you have for it, means the project will have the most complete picture to create the map from.

For anyone viewing the emerging mapped priorities, you can indicate whether you support or not where the priorities have been mapped.

Landowners should not be concerned if they find their land incorporated into a mapped area – these mapped areas are aspirational and proposals – it does not mean your land will feature in the final priority mapping. The final map of areas that have the potential to become of importance for biodiversity, will not instruct anyone on what they must or must not do on their land – and you will be consulted regarding the siting of these areas. But if you do have any concerns, please contact the project on makingspacefornature@kent.gov.uk

MS4N Priorities for Nature mapping tool

How to use the tool

Straight away you can view what others have submitted on the map of Kent & Medway and the icons tell you what priority they relate to, for example “wetland” or “farmland and land management”.  As the tool runs more and more pins will appear on the map.  If you click on a pin, the map zooms in – you can find out more about the action proposed and also gives you the option to lend your support or not, with a simple thumbs up/thumbs down button.

The tool has been deigned to be simple to use, so you might want to go straight in on the above link and click on the blue “Add Your Priority for Nature” button on the top right, but these are the fields you will be taken through:

• Click the blue “Add Your Priority for Nature” button and select the priority your ambition aligns with – use the “Next” button bottom left to move to each new step.
• You are then guided to either draw or upload the boundary for your priority, to draw it, click the draw a polygon button (pentagon shape) and mark an area on the map (if you need instructions click the question mark (?) button).
• You can then add your detail on “What action should be taken in this area” and the optional field “Why is this action needed?”
• There are then optional questions about your relation to the land and your interest in nature recovery.
• Finally check the privacy notice box and submit.

The MS4N team can also offer support to anyone wishing to map their action – please contact makingspacefornature@kent.gov.uk

We look forward to seeing all your priorities on the map!