2026 Free

NBN Trust Annual Impact Report 2025/26

NBN Trust's Annual Impact Report 2025/26 looks back at 25 years of making data work for nature: over 300 million wildlife records available through the NBN Atlas, a 200+ member partnership, and transformation of the UK's biodiversity data infrastructure under the first NBN Atlas Strategy.

Report snapshot
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About

The National Biodiversity Network Trust (Charity No. 1082163) is the UK's largest partnership for nature, championing the sharing of wildlife data since 2000 and running the NBN Atlas.

Key Metrics

Wildlife records More than 300 million wildlife records made available through the NBN Atlas, the UK's largest partnership for nature
Network members Over 200 member organisations in the National Biodiversity Network partnership
Years of impact 25 years of championing the sharing of wildlife data, celebrated in the 2025/26 report

Key Outcomes

  • Biodiversity data infrastructure transformed under the first NBN Atlas Strategy, improving performance and usability.
  • NBN Atlas data providing the evidence base to protect nature across the UK.
  • NBN Award winners and highly commended nominees celebrated, with a forward look to the year ahead.

Geography

UK-Wide

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
5,999 active volunteers contributed 776,242 hours in 2025/26
Key Metric 2
137 winter maintenance projects across 45 canals; 109 lock gates replaced
Key Metric 3
101,640 children participated in Explorers/STEM outdoor learning, including 67,896 water-safety participants
Over 80% of the network kept fully open despite drought.
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
The Eco-Schools programme reached over 1.4 million pupils, with 2,162 schools awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
326,000 volunteers pledged to the Great British Spring Clean, picking up 425,626 bags of rubbish, supported by 288 local authorities and parish councils
Key Metric 3
2,227 Green Flag Awards given to parks and green spaces in the UK; 151 beaches given a Blue Flag and/or Seaside Award
98.3% of educators felt the Eco-Schools programme significantly supports young people's development of 'green skills'
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
First known breeding success of spoonbills in the Norfolk Broads in around 400 years, recorded at Hickling Broads and Marshes
Key Metric 2
Over 60 nature reserves managed across Norfolk, with land owned or managed for wildlife exceeding 5,000 hectares
Key Metric 3
1,500 volunteers helped protect wildlife across the county during the year
New urban nature reserve co-designed with the local community, expanding accessible green space in Norfolk
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
61,819 native oysters deployed across UK restoration projects in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
15,064 people participated in the Beachwatch beach clean programme, submitting 1,256 litter surveys — the highest in the programme's 31-year history
Key Metric 3
17,613 young people engaged through in-person or online youth programme sessions
£11.5 billion Ofwat investment package secured for storm overflow cuts in England and Wales following sustained MCS advocacy