Maps created by 1960s schoolchildren provide new insights into habitat losses

Maps created by 1960s schoolchildren provide new insights into habitat losses - UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Study sheds light on timing and extent of agricultural and urban growth in England and Wales
Maps recording what was covering our landscape 60 years ago are now available to view online

A map from the 1960's survey shows a formerly largely grassland area of Norfolk. — This map from the 1960s survey shows a formerly largely grassland area of Downham Market, Norfolk. Image courtesy of the Trustees of the Land Use Research Unit.

A new study of 1960s maps, many of which were created by young people, has provided important fresh evidence of the timing and extent of habitat losses caused by agricultural intensification and urban growth in England and Wales.

Prior to the analysis by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), there were gaps in understanding about how our landscape gradually changed in the intervening years between the 1930s and 1990.

The 1960s survey involved 3,000 volunteers – many of them schoolchildren and students – marking maps with different colours and shadings, corresponding to a type of land cover such as arable, urban, grassland or woodland for every land parcel (ie an area with clear boundaries). This was done across the length and breadth of Britain. The Office for National Statistics and Defra worked to save and scan all 7,040 paper maps, and has now made them available for people to view free online.

Dynamic changes in land cover

UKCEH converted information from a representative sample of these maps covering 15% of England and Wales into digital format and compared the land cover on sites in the 1960s with what was there in the 1930s, 1990 and 2020.

Posted On: 20/11/2025

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