Having studied biology Heather Scollick felt she should have a good insight into biological and environmental functions when thinking about a beginner’s guide to the DEFRA BNG Metric Tool https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statutory-biodiversity-metric-tools-and-guides. BNG is though a new subject matter for her, and Heather comments that “learning to use the metric tool has come with challenges, but an unexpected enjoyable learning experience none-the-less.
When I first glanced at the 78-page user guide and the maze of Excel spreadsheets that make up the metric tool, I was initially daunted. But to my surprise, as I began to unpack the seemingly mammoth challenge, things fell into place much faster than I had anticipated. With the support of my CSX colleagues, and after reading through the user guide a couple of times, I quickly began to understand how to use the metric tool effectively.
The BNG metric and user guide are remarkably logical to follow, and using the metric tool is quite accessible. The user guide itself is particularly helpful, containing logical answers to most of my questions. The trick is knowing how to navigate the guide as the information on there is easy to understand.
There are other areas one needs to learn to get the most out of the metric tool, UKHab in particular.”
One area Heather struggled with was how the UKHab classifications are not all reflected in the metric tool. Some habitats that are separate in UKHab are classed as the same in the metric tool, such as fens. In the UKHab guide, there are a variety of fen habitat types but in the metric tool there is just the one. To help with that, the metric tool has a section within it to explain any ‘translation’ issues between the UKHab guide and itself. Heather found the Technical Data folder useful, which contains info-sheets on how to record the correct information in a form so that it aligns with the metric tool.
Heather further comments that “once versing myself comfortably in theory, practicing in the metric tool proved to be a little challenging at first. It took me some time to understand retaining, enhancing, and creating habitats, and it took a little bit of re-reading the user guide to overcome this. Additionally, to create meaningful results, it is essential to understand the trading rules. These ensure that there is adequate compensation for loss of habitat and are essential for achieving BNG. To create a working scenario, the trading rules are critical to understand and abide by.
After I managed to create a working scenario, the results page came in very useful. It gives a short, but concise summary to any calculations the metric has created. The information is in a format that is easy to understand and useful for putting in reports. It requires little explanation. The calculations appear accurate and give a good forecast of BNG credits. The results do not need further manipulation to be used which makes this tool very effective.”
In summary, Heather found that the BNG metric tool is quite logical to use and has plenty of guidance within itself and in the user guide. After a couple of weeks of training and practice with her CSX colleagues Heather was able to confidently complete BNG metric calculations within her day to day work supporting CSX clients on their BNG journey.