Biodiversity is the variety of plant and animal life in a given location. A high level of biodiversity is considered important and desirable.

Global biodiversity is currently suffering huge decline and extinctions. The most visible examples of this are climate change and habitat destruction. Much of this is being caused by humans.

Our video ‘encouraging biodiversity in Cambridge’ explains how we maintain and improve our local nature reserves.

The Cambridge Biodiversity Strategy 2022-30 [PDF, 2.5MB] sets out how the council will manage its own estate, and work with local residents, businesses and other landowners, to ensure that city's wild plants and animals can flourish, and in doing so bring pleasure and enjoyment to both residents and visitors alike.

We produced a parks and open spaces biodiversity toolkit [PDF, 9MB] to inspire local groups and individuals. We hope it will help you to get involved with enhancing your local parks for wildlife. The toolkit explores what types of habitats you could create and how to do so, and how you can work with us.