Communities revive green spaces to boost wildlife and wellbeing

“The variety of work undertaken shows the many different ways people can help wildlife. This work is making a real difference for nature and communities around the UK and we hope it will inspire many more people to make meaningful changes in their own neighbourhoods.”

The projects, made possible with £5 million funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, include:

Cornwall, Surrey and Nottinghamshire.

Groups across the UK are kickstarting a grassroots response to the climate emergency and nature loss.

Nextdoor Nature is one of the latest initiatives in The Wildlife Trusts’ mission to inspire and support 1 in 4 people to take action for nature.

Fifty new Community Organisers have started in post from Scotland to the Isles of Scilly. They are enabling communities to take charge of creating and restoring wild places, improving nature connectedness for people and providing much-needed habitats for wildlife. Nikki Williams, Director of Campaigning and Communities for The Wildlife Trusts, says: “If people take action for nature, we can help our natural world to recover, which is critical for halting wildlife loss and tackling climate change. Nextdoor Nature focuses on responding to communities’ needs for improving nature where they live.

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, says: “We have provided a £5 million grant to support this pioneering project because communities and nature are at the heart of it. It is so important that local communities take an active role in environmental projects and provide inspiration to others to get involved and care for our precious natural heritage. We wish all the organisers well and are delighted that their vital work will form part of a lasting legacy for the Jubilee year.”

Wildlife Trusts Enquiry 1

• More than a dozen community gardens –from The Larder in East Belfast to Corwen in North Wales, including in Exeter, Bristol, Doncaster, Newcastle and many more.

• Helping vulnerable groups take an active role in nature’s recovery in communities in Kent, Gloucestershire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Wiltshire and Northumberland.

• Places of worship turning their green spaces over to benefi t wildlife and people in

• Cross-generational projects bringing old and young together, sharing memories of nature, and igniting a fierce determination to bring about positive change for the next generation in Derby, Dorset, London, Sussex and Teesside.

• Regenerating urban centres to create habitats for wildlife and green areas for people to use and enjoy in Surrey, Warwickshire, Derby and Swansea.

• Community art and nature projects in Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, Suffolk and Radnorshire.