OWLS:
About us
For a number of reasons many of Oxfordshire's diverse landscapes and habitats have changed radically over the past 40-50 years.
To gain a better understanding of these changes Oxfordshire County Council undertook a three year landscape and biodiversity completed in 2004. It is called the Oxfordshire Wildlife and Landscape Study (OWLS) and comprises Oxfordshire’s Landscape Character Assessment. It was jointly sponsored by:
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Natural England (formerly English Nature and the Countryside Agency)
- The Earth Trust (formerly the Northmoor Trust)
Its main purpose was to investigate the landscape character and biodiversity resource of the county and use the results of the survey work to help safeguard, maintain and enhance this resource. All the data collected has been incorporated into a large database accompanied by a final report. This website is a simplified version of the database which displays the information as a series of separate map layers which link to relevant parts of the report.
Potentially, it will be of interest to a wide range of different user groups including planners, conservationists and local communities.
You can read the methodology behind the study here:
Go to the help section for more information about how the site works. We recommend viewing this site at the highest possible screen resolution.
We would welcome your views and comments on the project. Please contact the Natural Environment Team at Oxfordshire County Council.