The Devana Centre for Environmental Recovery
100-acres dedicated to biodiversity net gain
Launched in 2023, Devana is Ground Control and the Evergreen Fund's second Environmental Recovery Centre. The name is taken from ‘Via Devana’, the Roman road which passed through Cambridgeshire, and ‘Devana’ the Slavic goddess of wild nature, highlighting the commitment to preserve and enhance this 100 acre site for nature and biodiversity net gain.
As one of the first Habitat Banks in England on the National Biodiversity Net Gain Sites Register, the site will enhance Cambridgeshire nature through the sale of 207 Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) units, with the initial nature recovery aims to:
Expand the current woodland cover with native broadleaf trees
Enhance the retained woodland and grassland to increase biodiversity value and resilience
Create mixed scrub habitat, species-rich grassland habitat, and wildlife ponds
Manage the existing hedgerows for nature
Devana is one of the first Habitat Banks in England on the National Biodiversity Net Gain Sites Register, and units are Section 106 approved.
Devana represents a key part of Natural Cambridgeshire’s ambition to double land managed for nature across the region from 8%, one of the lowest in the country, to 16%, the national average.
The new location will provide a home for:
20-25 native tree species
15-20 native shrub species
A wide variety of native wildflowers and grasses
These will help in creating valuable habitats for a range of other fauna such as pollinators, birds, bats, mammals and reptiles. The land will also provide corridors for biodiversity to spread by linking directly into the Cambridgeshire Green Infrastructure network via woodland and hedgerows on site and the neighbouring Semi-Natural Ancient Woodland Rand’s Wood.