How to Better Managing Commons: Insights from a Landmark Project

Our transformative four-year, £3 million initiative, Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons, is in its last year of delivery, leaving a lasting legacy for England's upland commons. Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project underscores the critical role commons play in biodiversity, heritage, climate resilience, and community livelihoods.

Focusing on 12 iconic commons in the Yorkshire Dales, Lake District, Shropshire Hills, and Dartmoor, the project brought together 25 national and local partners. It delivered surprising outcomes that affirm the importance of common land for nature conservation, archaeology, carbon sequestration, wetland restoration, public access, and sustainable farming.

Key insights from the project report are being shared to guide future land management and conservation efforts. Highlights include:

1. Recognising Diverse Values

Commons are rich, multifaceted landscapes that provide ecological, cultural, and economic benefits. Planning approaches must embrace this complexity, contrasting sharply with single-outcome initiatives often favoured by other natural environment projects.

2. Redefining Expertise

Local knowledge, rooted in lived experience, is as critical as academic expertise. Commoners possess unparalleled insights into the land, shaped by generations of stewardship.

3. The Role of the Commons Facilitator

A skilled facilitator can bridge gaps between commoners, stakeholders, and funders. Success hinges on recruiting natural conveners whose role is to be an open and unbiased conduit of information, support and interaction.

4. Harnessing the Arts for Dialogue

Artistic interventions, such as Commons Stories—a series of interviews, videos, and photographs by Somewhere Nowhere—offered a neutral and reflective space for all to tell their stories.

5. Ground-Up Collaboration

Listening to local voices and co-creating solutions led to more effective outcomes. Future projects should prioritise flexibility, allowing goals to emerge organically rather than imposing predetermined frameworks.

6. Action Drives Progress

Getting stuck into ‘doing’ rather than just talking has increased understanding, momentum and goodwill. For example, Commoners and owners are using insights from Farmer-led habitat assessment and animal health projects to refine their farm businesses.

To find out more, including regional achievements, download the report.