Evaluation of the Local Places for Nature Programme from 2020 to 2025: interim report (summary)

The Welsh Government’s Local Places for Nature (LPfN) programme seeks to support communities in creating ‘nature on their doorsteps’, and is delivered on a range of different levels (from local authority to local community). The programme largely targets areas with limited access to nature, including areas of deprivation.

This is an interim report for an evaluation of the programme, commissioned by the Welsh Government in February 2024 and running until mid-2025. This is an interim report for an evaluation which is ongoing. As such, the findings and conclusions that are set out are all interim and subject to change as the evaluation progresses.

As process and delivery elements of the programme were a large focus of previous evaluations, this evaluation will build on the existing evidence on LPfN performance and outcomes. In particular, this evaluation aims to understand:

• the social impacts at the community group and the overall community level of the LPfN projects in their areas
• the extent to which LPfN has acted as a mechanism to encourage communities, individuals and organisations to act to support and value nature

Evaluation activities have included:

• a total of 15 scoping interviews were undertaken with Welsh Government officials (n=3), scheme management staff (KWT, WCVA, NLHF, n=6), LNP coordinators (n=5) and the OVW coordinator (n=1) to discuss the priorities for the evaluation and develop the evaluation team’s understanding of the information available to inform the evaluation
• Theory of Change workshop
• review and analysis of monitoring data and reports; this included output data for activities undertaken, as well as over 350 case studies that were produced for projects supported by the Community Packages Scheme; evaluation and/or completion reports were provided by the NLHF for 38 of the 41 projects that received an NLHF LPfN Capital Fund grant; the NLHF also provided interim and completion reports for eight projects funded by the Breaking Barriers Scheme
• during August and September 2024, interviews were undertaken with 26 stakeholders involved in different aspects of the programme: 9 LNP coordinators, 11 KWT project officers, 2 NHLF grant officers, and 4 representatives of community/town councils supported by the programme

The LPfN Theory of Change

The Theory of Change for LPfN links the creation of nature/green spaces to increased individual and community support for nature. It suggests that by providing people with opportunities to engage with nature, they will be more likely to value it and support efforts to protect and restore it.

Drawing on the research undertaken to date, the Theory of Change process has identified two ‘pathways’ that start from the activity of creating more local ‘nature spaces’. One pathway covers increased individual awareness, understanding, and then action to support nature, while the other pathway focuses on how the programme intends to lead to improved community well-being.

Overall, an emerging finding of the evaluation is that the Theory of Change for LPfN is built on assumptions that align with existing research.

Local Nature Partnerships Scheme

The data available suggest that a substantial amount of activity has taken place through projects supported through the LNP Scheme to create green spaces, develop new capital assets, and engage volunteers.

Many LNPs reported positive feedback from communities, with increased engagement with as well as appreciation for local nature projects within scheme quarterly reports produced by the WCVA for the Welsh Government. Specifically, it was reported that projects sought to bring communities together and foster a sense of ownership and pride. In addition, during interviews, seven of the nine LNP officers noted the social and well-being benefits that they observed, including providing a sense of purpose for volunteers, improving mental health, and enhancing community cohesion.

The data available do show that relevant activity is taking place, but the evidence available on the scale, effectiveness and outcomes of that activity is not available.

Coastal Capacity Building Scheme

The Coastal scheme is aiming to enhance the capacity of coastal communities in Wales and has funded 11 projects since its inception in 2023, all of which are ending before the end of March 2025. These projects are being implemented in five LNP areas, meaning that there are gaps in the ‘coastal areas’ of Wales in which the scheme is active (at the time of writing in February 2025).

National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) Capital Grants Fund

The NLHF Capital Grants Scheme has distributed over £2 million in the four years since the LPfN scheme was set up. Between 2020 and 2024, this funding was distributed relatively evenly between the public and third sectors in Wales, supporting a range of projects.

The distribution of the grants and funding across Wales has not been even, with the number of grants particularly high in some areas. The scheme is, however, demand-led, meaning that this kind of uneven distribution is difficult to avoid.

There are no scheme-level monitoring data on the outcomes or impact of the projects that have been supported. Evaluation and completion reports prepared by applicants as their projects ended do, however, provide useful insights into what projects reported achieving. A wide range of positive outcomes were identified, with a particular emphasis on community engagement. The evidence used to demonstrate those outcomes was, however, usually anecdotal and limited in terms of its potential to demonstrate programme-wide outcomes and impacts. The evidence was also generally collected by the projects themselves based on their specific activities and priorities.

The Breaking Barriers Scheme

The Breaking Barriers Scheme supported a range of projects between April 2021 and March 2023. The distribution of those projects was, however, relatively limited, with no projects funded outside of South Wales.
Key achievements reported by the grant recipients included engaging the target groups in various activities such as environment and volunteer activities, well-being benefits of being outdoors, and visits to natural and cultural heritage sites. The projects also reported engaging and supporting autistic people, individuals with mental health problems, or individuals with learning impairments, seeking to help build their confidence, develop their social skills, and improve their quality of life.

The evidence available is, however, largely focused on the outputs of activities as well as anecdotal evidence of outcomes achieved as reported by the grant recipients and, therefore, needs to be verified.

Community Packages Scheme (Keep Wales Tidy)

Following its establishment, the Community Packages Scheme supported over 1,400 projects across Wales over the four financial years reviewed here, primarily focused on urban and peri-urban areas.

Monitoring data, an in-house evaluation report, and case studies indicated positive outcomes for individuals and communities. Projects enhanced natural spaces, fostered community engagement, promoted physical and mental well-being, and provided educational opportunities.

The limitations of the evidence available are, however, important to recognise, including inconsistency in the quantitative data collected as well as a reliance on qualitative data against project-specific questions, which is difficult to use to make judgements at a scheme level. The range and volume of activity being undertaken, including the number of people involved, are clear, however.

Next steps

One of the headline findings of the evaluation to date is that while there is a large amount of information available on the activities delivered by the LPfN schemes, more evidence of the outcomes of that activity is needed. This is particularly in respect of the key objectives of this evaluation, which are to explore (a) the social impacts at the community group and the overall community level of the LPfN projects in their areas, and (b) the extent to which LPfN has acted as a mechanism to encourage communities, individuals and organisations to act to support and value nature.

The focus of the evaluation going forward will be on further engaging with projects and visiting a sample of the projects that have been supported by the LPfN schemes, with a view to collecting more consistent and independent evidence of the outcomes that have been achieved. The data collected will also be used to revisit the Theory of Change for the programme that has been developed, testing the outcomes and assumptions that have been identified and assessing the extent to which the impact that the programme is seeking to achieve can be evidenced.

Report authors: Endaf Griffiths, Dr Lowri Cunnington-Wynn, Wavehill: social and economic research

Views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and not necessarily those of the Welsh Government.

For further information please contact:

Climate and Environment Research Team
Social Research and Information Division
Knowledge and Analytical Services
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

Email: ClimateAndEnvironmentResearch@gov.wales

Social research number: 61/2025
Digital ISBN: 978-1-83715-898-0