Future Rural Voices: perspectives on the countryside’s future

What do you hope the countryside will look like in 100 years? As CPRE marks its centenary, we’re not just celebrating what’s been protected over the past hundred years. We’re asking what comes next and who gets to shape it.

It’s easy right now to feel anxious about the countryside’s future. Climate change, nature loss, development pressures – the challenges are real and they’re not going away. But the surest antidote to despair is imagination. Imagining positive futures can practically inform what we need to do now to make those futures a reality. In fact, safeguarding the countryside so that future generations can experience it is at the core of our mission to protect it.

So we put this question to a diverse group of people – staff, volunteers, campaigners and allies. Their answers are below. 

Some voices returned again and again to the same ideal: a countryside that truly belongs to everyone. 

‘I hope that in 100 years’ time, everyone can step out of their door and find nature close by – fields, trees or green spaces that feel part of everyday life. And that the countryside feels welcoming and familiar to everyone, not mysterious or reserved for a few.’

– Verity, Centenary Communications and Digital Marketing Lead at CPRE

‘I hope the greenery and stillness of the countryside will be incorporated more into city life, as third spaces. This is so that people will have accessible spaces to experience fresh air and countryside wildlife within a hectic city atmosphere.’

– Peace, Online Campaign Activist for CPRE

‘The English countryside feels like one of the country’s hidden treasures, quite often overlooked, something I’m guilty of myself. My hope for the future is that these landscapes are protected, so more people have the chance to experience their beauty. I’d also love to see the countryside become a place where people from all backgrounds feel welcome to explore and enjoy it freely.’

– Rummena, Communications Assistant at CPRE

‘I hope the countryside will be a place everyone has access to, with a Right to Roam for all! We know that nature heals us in mind, body and soul, but nature itself needs us so that it can heal too. My dream for the countryside is a ‘re-commoning’ of the land, in which we all share in the joys of nature together and thrive alongside our fellow species.’

– Harry, Right to Roam

‘I hope for a countryside full of life — rich with plants, trees, hedgerows, and thriving native wildlife, as well as a landscape where everyone in the local community has equal access. A place where people and nature coexist in balance, and where this vital relationship is valued, protected and strengthened for generations to come.’

– Shan, Planning Policy Officer at CPRE

Others imagined nature itself transformed – wilder, louder, more alive.

‘More green and wild, and accessible with no threats.’

– Dzhaklin, Online Campaign Activist for CPRE

‘I hope the countryside is messy and full of life. I’d love to see hundreds or thousands of different types of trees and bush all reunited after centuries of decimation. I hope it’s noisy, filled with the songs of so many birds, the ripples of clean and drinkable water, and the scurrying of animals like badgers and hedgehogs. In 100 years, I hope we can hear the wind whisper through the trees as people pick fruits and forage in their shade.’

– Natalie, Friends of the Earth

‘I hope that in 100 years the countryside will be greener, richer in wildlife, and more resilient to climate change. Native forests, wildflower meadows, and clean rivers would thrive, supporting diverse species that have been restored and protected. Farming would work in harmony with nature, producing healthy food while caring for the soil, water, and biodiversity. I also hope the countryside remains a peaceful, accessible place for people—where communities are connected to the land, renewable energy is thoughtfully integrated, and future generations can enjoy natural beauty without it being overdeveloped or lost. It should be a place where people from all backgrounds feel welcome, with more diverse communities actively engaging with and enjoying the outdoors, helping to care for and shape the countryside together.’

– Mohammed, Become United

‘I would hope that nature is thriving with an abundance of wildlife – perhaps some reintroduced. I would hope that people are more sympathetic to the land and appreciate what it gives – life. I hope that there is plenty of eco-focussed housing for everyone and that people are able to travel around freely.’

– Brad, Rural Policy & Campaigns Officer at CPRE

‘My hope for the countryside is that sustainable land management becomes the norm, facilitating the delivery of environmental recovery, green energy, and local food production. I want access to nature and green spaces to become more inclusive, connecting diverse communities with the natural environment, and for those accessing the countryside to do so in a responsible manner. At the heart of all this I envisage a wilder countryside, seeing the recovery and return of Britain’s iconic species to the landscape.’

– Robson, UK Youth for Nature

‘I want the future countryside to be a place where nature and people thrive side by side. A landscape full of trees and life, where biodiversity is high and farming works with nature, not against it. A place where people can get outdoors, support their physical and mental wellbeing, and feel connected to the land around them. I hope to see our woodlands restored and joined up, alongside the return and protection of precious habitats like ancient woodland, lowland peat bogs, wildflower meadows, heathlands, saltmarshes and wetlands. Places that were once lost brought back, richer and more alive than before. A countryside that is not just surviving, but flourishing, for both people and the natural world, long into the future.’

– Briony, Friends of the Earth

Several people pictured a future where the line between town and countryside has softened or disappeared altogether.

‘In 100 years, I hope the countryside will look treasured. I hope that the relationship between agriculture and wild ecosystems will have been improved, so that we can see thriving fields besides large, looming forests. I hope that the countryside will be a haven for biodiversity, where an abundance of healthy ecosystems protect their species and us alike from extreme weather events and natural disasters. I hope that all children go on field trips where they wake up to the morning mist, gaze at clear constellations, and wonder at the curious proceedings of the natural world. I hope that housing will be improved, so that people’s homes are as taken care of as the wildlife surrounding them. Finally, I hope that nature will be so integrated into our cities that the border between urban sprawls and countryside becomes nearly impossible to distinguish. The state of our countryside defines us, as individuals and as a society, so the healthier and more respected it is, the better we will fare.’

– Juliette, Online Campaign Activist for CPRE

‘In 100 years, I hope that the countryside has been restored to where there’s no longer a division between countryside and city, and that green spaces and sustainable practices have become so integrated that we have created a true interdependent relationship with nature.’

– Qaanita, Network Engagement Assistant at CPRE

‘My hope for green spaces lies not just in the countryside, but everywhere. ‘Living walls’ on all suitable walls, rooftop gardens, enhanced road verges and most importantly re-vegetation of car parks.’

– Emma, Online Campaign Activist for CPRE

‘In 100 years, I hope humans will have learnt to live with the countryside, not just around it. We would see more wildlife in our everyday lives. We would cycle and walk more, through a wider variety of green spaces, owned by communities rather than individuals or businesses. We would have a better understanding and appreciation for nature – not just the impressive landscapes, but the wildflowers growing on our doorstep. We would see more solar panels on roofs, wind turbines on our walks, powering our lives sustainably. We would contribute actively to our local area and feel invested in its future. The countryside would be an intrinsic part of how we live our lives, valued and cared for by all.’

– Anna, Volunteering Development Assistant

And running through almost every response was something a determination, and a sense that the countryside’s future depends on all of us choosing to care for it.

‘My hope for the countryside is that we all play our part in taking care of it, recognising its finite nature and as something to treasure not trash.’

– Crewenna, Director for Communities and Participation at CPRE

‘I want to see more places open to roaming but responsibly so. People must be able to get out into the countryside more but not to the detriment of the farming community. Planners should concentrate on having more solar panels on buildings and not in open fields. Woods should be expanded not reduced. Water pollution must be drastically reduced. Water companies must be punished heavily and their payment of dividends reduced. If this makes them less attractive to investors, they should be taken back into public ownership.’

– Richard, Online Campaign Activist for CPRE

‘The countryside is a vibrant mesh of habitats, biodiversity, local businesses and food production, which increases diversity rather than deplete it. There is abundant birdsong, insect life flourishes and we feel connected to and protective of its beauty and gifts.’

– Suzy, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Network

‘What do I hope the countryside will look like in 100 years? Flourishing green spaces, home to much thriving wildlife, finally valued by humanity for it’s true worth’.

– Lisa, CPRE Oxfordshire, Cherwell District Committee Member

‘I would love the countryside to be beautiful, nature rich, productive and cared for! I’d love for it to feel welcoming to everyone. I’d love young people to be involved in its management as a matter of course. I’d love for the waterways to be clean. I’d love there to be a dense network of public rights of way and wild camping everywhere. I’d love for there to be a ridiculous number of healthy hedges. I’d love for there to be a goofy number of ponds and wetland areas.’

– Jack, Youngwilders

‘I hope that in 100 years the countryside will still have plenty of green spaces and new and improved habitats for wildlife. I hope that any endangered and rare species will have a resurgence. It is without doubt that more housing will be developed and built, in areas across the countryside, but I hope that if land is built on, that green spaces are preserved as much as possible for people and wildlife to enjoy and thrive in. I would love to see more children and young people getting involved in helping to protect the countryside, like in schools and their local community. I think it’s important for children to experience nature and wildlife from an early age so they can fully appreciate the natural beauty around them, feel empowered to play their part and grow up in a greener and better world. Here’s to a brighter countryside today and for future generations!’

– Antonia, Online Campaign Activist for CPRE

These are just some of the voices shaping what comes next. What’s yours?