The hands-on guide for the 4 Returns approach to holistic landscape regeneration

Over the course of the past seven years at Commonland, together with our partners we have tested and developed our approach to holistic, large-scale landscape restoration based on sustainable business cases. During those years, we have gained many insights into what works in certain contexts and what does not. Although we recognise that in landscape restoration there is no one-size-fits-all, many lessons apply more universally. By sharing this knowledge, we hope to help you move faster in your initiative and create a bigger impact as a community.

There is no blueprint approach guaranteed for success. This is why we call this a ‘guidebook’ rather than a ‘manual’. Determine for yourself if these guidelines will work in your context, and how you can adapt them to make them work for you.

Each module covers a step in the process. It presents best practices in a high-level, easy overview. For a higher level of detail and more practical pointers, a host or tools, videos, stories and other resources are connected to the modules to help you dive deeper and apply the knowledge in practice. You can go through the modules one by one or dive right into those most relevant to you.