Community Unites for Nature - a Next Door Nature update

By Fee Worton

It’s been a busy time for Nextdoor Nature as we move into full-on spring!! Hooray!!

We’ve been working in partnership with Belgrave Community Gardening Project, Leicester City Council, Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre, Belgrave Library, and the Police to pull together a plan of action to develop a green corridor that starts at the library and will see an increase in biodiversity across the Belgrave area of the city.

This is the brainchild of the Lead Volunteer at the community garden, Alison Gage, and is bringing the whole community together to take action for nature where they live As people take pride in their renewed involvement in their community, and the area becomes visibly more attractive, we hope it will see increased footfall which will result in decreased antisocial behaviour. A win-win!!

At the end of April some of you kindly folk joined up with their volunteers to help plant some wildflower seeds at Cossington Recreation Ground, making a healthy start to the planting season Students from Leicester College joined us to film the activity, capture the progress, interview participants and all for a film they’re making that LRWT can use to inspire others to do similar where they live. Russell Parry and Lyndsey-Anne Heald, whom some of you know well, also came to share their take on the plant diversity of the area to help us see things from a different perspective. It was a really inspiring day and garnered lots of welcome attention to the project which will hopefully lead to more volunteers supporting the community gardening project.

Talking of Russell and Lyndsey-Anne – we ’ ve also been working together to develop an urban botany walk that they will lead as part of Walk Leicester, in partnership with Leicester City Council. Walk Leicester is a month-long walking festival, in conjunction with National Walking Month.

However, should you have missed out this time, we ’ re in the midst of pulling together a similar walk for a city festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend, we’ll keep you posted!

There’s lots of other action taking place in various different forms and at various different stages of which there’ll be more information over the coming months But for now, I’d like to thank you for your support so far The results of new and positive relationships across the city, with communities we ’ ve never before invited into the conversation surrounding nature's recovery, are speaking for themselves and resulting in action for nature now!