Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
The Monitoring and Evaluation Plan sets out a clear, evidence-led framework to track progress toward the ecological, social, cultural and access ambitions of Linking Levisham. Grounded in the scheme’s Theory of Change, monitoring ensures alignment with the scheme’s vision and objectives.
Vision
“A flagship site of national importance for landscape-scale nature recovery and climate resilience within a working and culture-rich landscape.”
Objective
Linking Levisham is to significantly improve the range of biodiversity and sustain a more resilient accessible landscape highly valued for nature and biodiversity.
The framework is organised around 11 themes that collectively examine habitat condition, biodiversity, hydrology, climate resilience, livestock and herbivory, cultural heritage, skills and employment, engagement, access and wellbeing. Each theme links to specific impacts, outcomes and outputs identified during scheme design, providing a holistic picture of landscape and community change.
A suite of robust and repeatable methods underpins the plan. These include:
- Nationally recognised ecological survey protocols (peatland surveys, BNG (Biodiversity Net Gain) habitat assessments, woodland condition surveys).
- Hydrological monitoring including dip wells and remote sensing analyses such as LiDAR.
Social and cultural outcomes are measured using a combination of:
- Quantitative data such as attendance, participation levels and survey responses.
- Qualitative insights from observations, participant feedback, reflective practice and narrative data.
This combination ensures consistency with baselines, comparability across years, and reliable evidence for reporting.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Plan enables the scheme to:
- Track ecological recovery, biodiversity trends and natural process restoration.
- Understand how people access, experience and value the landscape.
- Demonstrate compliance with Defra’s Landscape Recovery requirements.
- Provide a strong evidence base to refine scheme delivery and support long-term management.
By integrating ecological, social and cultural monitoring, the plan ensures Linking Levisham remains responsive, effective and evidenced throughout its lifetime and supports the long term longevity of the scheme.