Climate Action

What We're Doing

Peatland restoration

In the UK it is estimated there is over 3 billion tonnes of carbon stored in the peatlands, equivalent to all carbon stored in the forests in the UK, Germany and France together. 2630 hectares of carbon capturing peatlands have so far been restored through the Exmoor Mires Partnership.

And there’s more good news! The South West Peatland Partnership have recently been awarded a further £9 million to extend this work across Exmoor, Dartmoor and Bodmin saving the equivalent of 652,625 tonnes of CO2.

Woodland creation

As well as being beautiful natural structures, trees provide so many environmental benefits. Capturing carbon, improving water quality, they’re a sustainable building material and tool for flood management. In 2023, 13,000 trees were planted at Bye Wood near Winsford. In 2024, we’re planting 6,000 trees to create a truly sustainable woodland called Kings Wood in Simonsbath. it forms part of a drive to increase tree cover across Exmoor from 13.5% to at least 17% by 2050 – as recommended by the government’s climate advisors. It is one of the biggest woodland creation projects to have taken place in the National Park in the past 15 years.

We’re committed to being plastic free – using fully recyclable, reusable and compostable tree planting materials wherever possible. Even our tree nursery construction itself is built entirely from timber from ENPA managed woodlands and concrete foundations have been eschewed in favour of cast aluminium “ground screws”, saving 4.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Looking after the trees you already have is just as important. We have recently been highly-commended by the Royal Forestry Society for the careful way we manage our woodlands. This includes removing small amounts of timber to encourage natural regeneration, which benefits wildlife while providing a steady supply for making all the signs, stiles and gates on our rights of way network. Often the journey from wood to path is less than 25 miles.

Did you know you can find temperate rainforest in the National Nature Reserves of Tarr Steps, Hawkcombe and Horner Wood?It's an even more specialised habitat than tropical rainforests, with all kinds of biodiverse plants and lichens growing on the trees. Practical conservation on Exmoor has safeguarded vulnerable rainforest sites across Somerset and Devon by clearing invasive species, letting more light in through the canopy and creating a future generation of veteran trees.

Green economy

It's no exaggeration to say that the next 10 years will define our future on this planet, and Exmoor’s rural economy is key to driving that response locally.

Read our new Rural Enterprise Exmoor Vision to learn about the latest trends and find out how local businesses, communities and local bodies are cooperating to rise to the challenge.

Sustainable solutions

Planning decisions are one of the main tools National Parks have to protect our precious landscapes, wildlife and heritage, while working to sustain vibrant communities for future generations.

Through our Local Plan policies, we support development that harnesses renewable energy and sustainable water sources, while protecting our precious habitats and the special qualities that define Exmoor.

Did you know that the hydroelectric units at Beasley Weir and Glen Lynn Gorge together produce enough clean energy to power around 500 homes a year?

Working towards Net Zero

As an organisation we currently produce around 170 net tonnes of carbon a year. The majority of this is from the fossil fuels used to power our buildings and vehicles, a fact we’re urgently working to change.

Our climate action plan sets out our trajectory for reaching net zero by 2030, starting with some practical steps, like changing all our lighting to LED light bulbs and further improving the energy efficiency of our buildings, as well as reducing our journeys and beginning the switch to electric vehicles.

From estate work (making our National Park signposts and gates) to school activity days, there’s been a switch to electric vehicles and tools, installation of EV charging points across the National Park and a move away from fossil fuels.

Our Pinkery Outdoor Learning Centre already benefits from wind and solar power. We’re aiming for it to be the first of our buildings to become fully net-zero, with an ambition turn it into a centre of excellence for sustainability and renewable technologies.

The latest installation is a biomass boiler, funded by a ‘Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme’ grant, which means the centre can produce electricity from logs, from our own sustainably managed woods.

It’s replaced outdated fossil fuel systems and will supply renewable heat and hot water for the whole site, including the classrooms and accommodation units.

Nature friendly-farming

Working in partnership to support farmers and land managers to do more for nature alongside vital food production contributes to healthy ecosystems that store more carbon. It’s estimated 1 million tonnes are stored in Exmoor’s hedgerows and free-standing trees alone.

If you own or manage land in or near Exmoor, sign up to our Sowing the Seeds Project to network with others interested in restoring wildflower meadows, or see if the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme could help you deliver enhanced benefits for climate, nature and people on your land.

Get information on the latest schemes from your local Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG Southwest).

Habitat restoration

Our Nature Recovery Vision sets out an ambition to see at least 75% (51,750ha) of the area of the National Park in nature-rich condition by 2050.

This is the first time we as an organisation have set such a target for nature recovery, but it’s a goal we’ve been working on with our partners for many years, from our pioneering ENNIS project leading the way with chemical-free methods of invasive species control, to our work with Plantlife to safeguard Exmoor’s rare ‘Atlantic’ rainforests. Notwithstanding work by many private landowners to enhance their land for nature and by the National Trust and others to bring beavers and water voles back to some of our waterways.

Taken together this makes it a very exciting time for nature recovery on Exmoor.

Natural regeneration

While striving to put back lost habitats, we’re also keen to support ways of nature doing what nature does best. By 2030, we’re aiming for 10% of the National Park to be conserved as wilder areas, where nature and natural processes are allowed to take their course.

Porlock Marsh is one example of this in action, resulting from a decision to ‘let nature take its course’ when the shingle ridge protecting the area from the sea was breached in a storm in 1996. It remains today a SSSI and haven for wildlife.