Voluntary Biodiversity Credits
For Sale in Sussex
VOLUNTARY BIODIVERSITY CREDITS
How Can you or your Business
Support Nature Recovery
in the South East?
Here at the Iford Biodiversity Project we have developed our Voluntary Biodiversity Credits (VBC's) scheme. These credits make it simple for individuals or businesses to get involved with the project and have immediate impact on UK nature recovery.
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We have an ambitious plan to eventually take 800 hectares out of agriculture and return it to nature but to do this we need your help to invest in this fantastic project to continue making it a reality. So far, we have renatured an area of 52 hectares but we want to go much further creating not only woodland but also large areas of wild grassland and unique wetlands. These carefully curated environments will allow new habitats to flourish and wildlife both big and small to return.
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Purchase your
Voluntary Biodiversity Credits
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Credits are £240 (inc VAT) to restore and protect each 3x3m plot.
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​To purchase our VBC's head to the Earthly website using the link below. You will be asked to set up some quick log in details and then you can immediately purchase your credits.
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Please double check you have the correct amount of credits before buying.
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Choose invest once unless you wish to make a monthly purchase.​
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Example Certificate
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​​If you would like a certificate please make sure you request this after receiving your initial email from Earthly after your purchase.
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VOLUNTARY BIODIVERSITY CREDITS
How Do Voluntary
Biodiversity Credits Work?​
Each VBC plot we sell represents an actual 3m x 3m area of countryside with a unique What3Words address. Your investment in each of these plots enables us to return them to nature, nourish them and protect them for at least 30 years.
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Our Voluntary Biodiversity Credits come with all the same legal and monitoring protections as the government-approved Biodiversity Net Gain scheme that we operate but in a much more accessible way. This means that whether you want to invest in restoring 1 3m x 3m plot or 100 you can do so right now.
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Once purchased you will receive confirmation of the exact what3words addresses that you have invested in restoring. That particular square then appears on the Public Register of transactions, available here - Voluntary Biodiversity Credit Ledger, together with the purchasers name.
VOLUNTARY BIODIVERSITY CREDITS
Can I Visit
My Plot?
We are creating sensitive habitats and trying to encourage birds to nest and breed, and flora and fauna to return. We therefore ask that purchasers don’t try and navigate to their named plot(s) without checking with Iford Estate first. However all plots are easily viewed from the public footpath and you can get within 100m of any of the plots from the footpath.
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Footpath marked in dark blue. Please stay on the footpath.
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Periodic updates of species seen and other news will be available from our mailing list and social channels.
Visiting Options
BRONZE
Purchasers
For purchases up to 20 VBC's you will receive an invite to our annual open day giving you the option to visit and view the plots.
We envisage that purchasers will follow a marked route to the habitat bank, and will be greeted by a member of Iford Estate who can guide you further and explain what measures we are taking to create and maintain the habitat.
SILVER
Purchasers
For purchasers of 20 or more VBC’s we offer a chance for two people to join a group visit with a guided tour of the habitat bank with either our Estate Manager, Ben Taylor or a qualified ecologist. The tour lasting 2-3 hours will involve a walk around the habitat bank, with insights into the ethos of the Estate, the measures we have taken and our plans for the future, as well as stunning views of the South Downs and the opportunity to spot some of our returning species.
GOLD
Purchasers
For purchasers of 100 or more VBC’s we offer a bespoke private tour of the Estate for up to 8 people, incorporating various aspects of our habitat restoration, depending on the season. In winter we might view our woodland restoration or the flocks of wading birds on the wetlands, in summer we might focus on wildflowers and butterflies. Each tour, lasting 2-3 hours will include a visit to the VBC’s you have purchased and be guided by Estate Manager, Ben Taylor.
We have a variety of group tours available at a range of prices if you would like to visit the project outside of the above tiers. Please get in touch and we can discuss the available options.
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We also offer a wide range of corporate away day's which can include tours of the Iford Biodiversity Project.
VOLUNTARY BIODIVERSITY CREDITS
What Protections
Does my Investment Have?
The Voluntary Biodiversity Credit is legally secured with South Downs National Park Authority, and provides purchasers with the security of knowing that their investment will lead to tangible gains in Nature Recovery, Backed by the legal mechanism of the Biodiversity Net Gain Metric the uplift in biodiversity can be measured in a repeatable way. Annual monitoring, overseen by SDNP, will be published here and investors can visit their What3Words square, either as part of our annual group visit, or as part of a private visit.
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The legal protections on the Offset last for 30 years, but further protections will be governed by the Environmental Impact Assessment regime, which prevents the destruction of habitats in the future. At Iford we consider that the change in land use is permanent and lasts for ever.
VOLUNTARY BIODIVERSITY CREDITS
Why are we
Working with Earthly?
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Earthly run a transparent and publicly accessible biodiversity ledger which helps provide reassurance that the Iford VBC’s do what they say and ensure there is no double counting.​​
Earthly is empowering hundreds of organisations globally to tackle climate breakdown and biodiversity collapse, actively contributing to the protection and restoration of our planet. They do this by identifying the world’s most impactful nature-based projects that align with their client’s environmental and social goals. ​​​
