Heal Rewilding appoints environmental finance consultancy Great Yellow to bring Biodiversity Net Gain units to market

National charity Heal Rewilding has appointed Great Yellow to sell Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) units generated at its Heal Somerset rewilding site, with more than 600 high-quality units expected to be created overall in its habitat bank and more than 170 available in the first phase. The partnership brings together two organisations focused on scaling up long-term nature recovery and directing investment into high-integrity environmental projects.

Heal said it chose Great Yellow because of its strong alignment with the charity’s mission and values. Great Yellow works across landscape recovery, finance and nature markets to help transform how investment flows into nature recovery projects. The organisation connects high-integrity nature recovery initiatives with buyers seeking measurable environmental outcomes.

Biodiversity Net Gain, introduced under the Environment Act, requires new developments over 0.2ha in England to deliver a minimum 10% measurable improvement in biodiversity relative to the pre-development baseline. From 31 July 2026, a new exemption will remove sites of 0.2ha or below from scope, so the requirement will apply to the majority of developments above that threshold, creating growing demand for high-quality habitat restoration projects capable of delivering lasting ecological gains.

Heal Somerset, a 460-acre (186ha) former intensive dairy farm purchased by Heal Rewilding in December 2022, is being transformed through nature-led recovery approaches designed to help habitats recover, rebuild wildlife populations and improve ecosystem health.

“We are delighted to be working with Great Yellow to bring Heal Somerset’s Biodiversity Net Gain units to market,” said Jan Stannard, co-founder of Heal Rewilding. “From the beginning, Heal has aimed to create a nature recovery project with integrity, transparency and long-term ecological ambition. We feel Great Yellow shares those principles and understands the importance of creating genuine, lasting benefits for nature.”

The BNG units generated at Heal Somerset will help fund ongoing habitat restoration and long-term stewardship of the site, and provide a funding model to support Heal’s wider mission to buy land across England for rewilding and public access.

Heal says its approach to BNG is rooted in large-scale ecological recovery rather than fragmented habitat creation. The Somerset site is managed using nature-led principles, including natural regeneration, wetland restoration and low-intervention habitat recovery designed to support resilient ecosystems over the long term.

The team has recorded 94 bird species, 17 bat species and 24 butterfly species at Heal Somerset, which is home to nearly three times the abundance of small mammals compared to a nearby landholding.

Alongside biodiversity gains, Heal says healthy ecosystems can also provide wider public benefits including improved soil and water health, increased resilience to flooding and drought, carbon storage and stronger climate adaptation.

“We believe Biodiversity Net Gain has the potential to become an important mechanism for supporting meaningful landscape recovery,” said Stannard. “But credibility and ecological quality matter enormously. We want Heal’s units to represent genuine nature recovery with measurable long-term outcomes.”

Great Yellow said: “We are delighted to be working with such a high quality and ambitious nature recovery project. The partnership demonstrates how rewilding-led sites can become viable, compliance-ready supply for developers with genuine BNG obligations – combining ecological ambition with the planning credibility and long-term stewardship that buyers need to discharge conditions with confidence.

"Developers are increasingly clear about what they need from off-site BNG: units they can point to in a planning application, backed by robust management and a credible long-term commitment to delivery. Heal Somerset offers a professionally managed rewilding site with an approved habitat management and monitoring plan and units progressing onto the Natural England register. Our role is to connect that supply to the buyers who need it, and to make the transaction as straightforward as the ecological impact is ambitious." Archie Ruggles-Brise, Head of Special Projects, Great Yellow.

As demand for BNG units continues to grow, Heal hopes the partnership will demonstrate how nature markets can help channel investment into ambitious rewilding projects that benefit wildlife, climate and people alike.

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About Heal Rewilding

Heal Rewilding is a registered charity working to raise money, buy land in England and rewild it, to help nature recovery, climate action and wellbeing. Through the rebuilding of wildlife populations, community involvement and storytelling, Heal aims to reconnect people with nature and help tackle the climate and ecological crises. It bought its first rewilding site, Heal Somerset, in December 2022, which is open for free access to the public 50 weeks a year.

About Great Yellow

Great Yellow makes landscape regeneration investable and scalable. Founded in 2023, we work with leading nature recovery projects to align project delivery, capital investment, and routes to market, unlocking long-term value for land, investors, and the economy. By connecting capital, trade, data and delivery into our end-to-end ecosystem, we accelerate landscape-scale regeneration while helping organisations build resilience, manage climate and nature risk, and engage with natural capital markets with confidence.

For further information:

Heal Rewilding: Jan Stannard, [email protected], 07710 171704 or Katie Stearn-Mills, [email protected], 07594 121320

Great Yellow: Honor Scott, [email protected]

Images to accompany the story are here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1P4462W1bb-O9G1PgeodfnkIQc9onKVen?usp=sharing

Heal’s website is at www.healrewilding.org.uk. Great Yellow’s website is www.greatyellow.earth