National Trails Nature Hub: Accelerating nature recovery and habitat restoration across the UK

A new chapter for nature recovery on the UK’s National Trails

When people imagine a National Trail, they picture a path winding through vibrant landscapes. But along the 8,500km of our national trails network, pressures from climate change, biodiversity loss and reduced funding is threatening wildlife. The National Trails Nature Hub is changing that.  

Built in partnership with Esri UK, this innovative GIS based tool provides UK wide nature recovery data, streamlines habitat restoration planning and enables trail officers and NTUK staff to track, monitor and showcase measurable impact across all Trails. In just six days, this collaborative project delivered a resource that accelerates action, strengthens evidence and amplifies the Trails role in nature recovery.  

Built in partnership. How NTUK and Esri UK made it happen

National Trails UK were fortunate to receive six days of pro bono support from Esri UK through their Nonprofit Programme. In that short time, thanks to the brilliant work of Esri UK graduate Tom Hughes and the wider team, our long-held vision became a working reality.

For a small organisation with limited capacity, this partnership was transformative. For Esri UK, the project delivered a compelling real-world case study, a powerful example of meaningful engagement with a national network, and an invaluable development opportunity for their graduate.

And for both organisations, it proved something important: with the right partnership, even a short burst of time can drive extraordinary impact.

Introducing the National Trails UK Nature Hub

The Nature Hub is a simple, intuitive, all-in-one space for nature recovery data across every National Trail. It gives both NTUK staff and Trail officers immediate access to consistent, UK-wide evidence. Something that was previously impossible.

Users can explore five clear sections:

1. Advocate

Instant access to accurate statistics for Press and PR communications, reporting, funding bids and consultation responses.

2. Action Plan (Coming Soon)

Action plans showing each Trail’s planned nature recovery journey.

3. Project

A network-wide map of nature recovery projects, helping Trails learn from one another and collaborate more easily.

4. Monitor

A single entry point for habitat baselining and future survey data, standardising methods and making it easy to identify where restoration is most needed.

5. Tools and Resources

Guidance, Nature Recovery Toolkit and video content from our Path to Nature Recovery series, all conveniently housed in one place.

What difference will the National Trails UK Nature Hub make:

• It speeds up the work. High level statistics that once required manual GIS support can now be accessed instantly, freeing Trail teams to focus on action rather than data gathering. For example, at the press of a button, you can now find out the number of protected sites for nature and heritage within 100m of a National Trail and how many people live within a 15 minute walk of a National Trail.  

• It gives clear, reliable evidence. Instead of multiple reports with varying values (often only including England based data), the National Trails UK Nature Hub provides one consistent, UK wide source of truth for statistics that covers England, Scotland and Wales.  

• It strengthens impact tracing across the UK’s 20 National Trails. As the trails start rolling out habitat surveys informed by our future Menu of Habitat Survey Methods, this data will be housed in the Nature Hub. This will highlight where nature restoration is most needed and allow National Trails UK to combine results from multiple trails, helping partners, including Defra, see progress toward national targets like Defra’s Habitat Target, at a glance.  

• It makes data accessible for all. No GIS expertise needed. The Nature Hub’s simple interface allows Trail officers and NTUK staff to explore evidence independently and confidently,  

Why the Nature Hub matters to NTUK staff and National Trail Officers

For NTUK staff, the Nature Hub is a powerful tool. It arms us with the consistent, UK-wide data needed to advocate on behalf of our 20 National Trails, ensuring the Trails gain the recognition, visibility and funding they deserve. With stronger evidence, we can tell clearer stories, respond faster to opportunities, and champion the collective impact of the entire National Trails family.

The benefits don’t stop at the national level. They extend to the people who care for the Trails every day. By bringing all our nature recovery evidence into one clear, accessible place, the Hub strengthens National Trail Officers in accelerating nature’s recovery along their routes, helping them spot opportunities, learn from others, and plan with confidence.

Together, this means more support for the work our trail officers and wider teams do protecting, restoring and improving the National Trails, more capacity for action, and more nature thriving along every mile of the network.

Why the Nature Hub matters for Government and funders

For Government departments such as Defra, the National Trails UK Nature Hub offers something brand new: a single national window into nature recovery activity across all 20 UK National Trails.

Rather than working trail-by-trail, partners can now access standardised, aggregated impact data at the UK, country or individual Trail scale. This makes NTUK a valuable strategic partner, able to deliver measurable impact and support national nature recovery goals through one coordinated network.

For funders, the Hub acts as a clear proof of concept of what collaboration with NTUK can achieve:

• fast delivery

• measurable impact

• scalable potential

• trusted partnership

• efficiencies across the whole network

And all achieved in just 6 days!

Early reflections on the Nature Hub’s potential

Rob Coates, Fundraising and Development Manager, NTUK:  “The Nature Hub is a crucial tool not just for demonstrating the need and impact of Nature Recovery on the National Trails, but its potential for engaging communities with the mission, and visible accountability, is transformational for our growth.”

Hattie Gwilt, Head of Sector, Nonprofit Programme, Esri UK - "It’s been incredibly rewarding to support NTUK’s Nature Hub project and watch one of our talented Graduates make a real impact on NTUK’s charitable mission. This is exactly what the Nonprofit Programme rotation within the Esri UK Graduate Scheme is designed for—creating a true win-win: graduates gain hands-on industry experience while our nonprofit customers receive expert ArcGIS consultancy at no cost to help configure something meaningful.

Many of us at Esri UK share a passion for the outdoors, so helping NTUK build a dashboard to monitor habitat restoration along trail corridors was an extra bonus. A special shout-out to Hannah Brightley, whose energy and vision were instrumental in driving this project forward. We’re excited to continue supporting NTUK through our Nonprofit Programme and look forward to seeing the positive impact grow."

Looking ahead: scaling nature recovery across the network

We’re excited to share the Hub in its test version with National Trail Officers and teams in early 2026. This first version is already proving how powerful shared, standardised data can be, and we know its potential extends far beyond nature recovery. In time, the same technology could support equitable access to nature, community engagement, heritage protection and more.

Above all, the Nature Hub demonstrates what is possible when organisations work together with trust, clarity and ambition.

See a sneak peak of the Hub here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLMJUkTNL-k

If six days can create something with this much potential, imagine what we could achieve next with the right partnerships and funding.