Two of Northern Ireland's landmark landscapes — Mourne Gullion and Strangford and Lecale — have received more than £1.9 million in development funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help revive and reconnect some of the UK’s most valued natural places.

Backed by National Lottery players, the Heritage Fund has allocated over £5m in development support to five projects across the UK, with up to £46.2m in delivery grants to be confirmed as plans are refined and tested over the next two years.

The funding will underpin work ranging from habitat restoration and peatland recovery following wildfires to improving access to nature, nurturing community stewardship and bolstering climate resilience — all aimed at strengthening nature, heritage and communities in priority landscapes.

Landscape Connections is a £150m, decade-long programme designed to bring farmers, landowners, communities and partners together to restore nature and build resilience at a meaningful scale.

Across the five projects, planned actions include peatland restoration, better water and flood management, coastal resilience measures, species recovery and farmer-led, nature-positive land management, alongside empowering communities to get involved and improving opportunities for people to enjoy the outdoors.

Mourne Gullion, a distinctive landscape under mounting pressure from wildfires, pollution and competing land uses, has been awarded £1.1m in development funding, with the potential for a further £8.7m for delivery. The project will unite farmers, landowners and local communities to restore habitats, enhance resilience and reconnect people with the area's rich natural and cultural heritage. Strangford and Lecale, one of Northern Ireland's most significant coastal landscapes, faces intensifying climate impacts and fragmented habitats. It has secured over £800,000 in development funding and could receive a further £8.8m for delivery to create a more connected landscape through large-scale habitat restoration and community-led nature recovery.

The Strangford and Lecale project will be coordinated by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and Ards and North Down Borough Council in partnership with Ulster Wildlife. In the neighbouring Mourne and Gullion Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a team comprising Mourne Heritage Trust, National Trust, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and Northern Ireland Water has been established.

Dedicated roles will be recruited to progress both projects. In Mourne Gullion, five posts will be created during development, with a further four jobs, six apprenticeships and a student placement programme for at least 24 young people planned for delivery.

For Strangford and Lecale, five roles will be created locally in the development phase and another five in delivery. Recruitment for the Mourne Gullion project, led by the National Trust, will begin in early August.

Dr Paul Mullan, Director, Northern Ireland, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: "Our landscapes are facing unprecedented challenges, from climate change to biodiversity loss, and meeting them requires people to work together across boundaries. It’s thanks to National Lottery players that through our Landscape Connections initiative, the Heritage Fund is helping foster new collaborations, bringing together landowners, farmers, communities and partners to restore nature and build resilience across some of the UK's most treasured places.

"The landscapes, habitats and natural environments we value are an important part of our shared heritage. Our two Landscape Connections projects in Northern Ireland – Mourne Gullion and Strangford Lecale demonstrate the ambition, innovation and partnership needed to secure the future of our landscapes. This development funding will help turn ideas into action, laying the foundations for long-term change that benefits both nature and people."