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Disadvantaged communities across the UK empowered to let nature flourish thanks to £5m National Lottery funding

Nextdoor Nature – a new natural legacy to mark the Queen’s Jubilee – will help nature flourish in Nottingham

Back in March, The National Lottery Heritage Fund announced a £5million investment in a ground-breaking initiative to create a huge matrix of community-led rewilding projects – improving the lives of people from some of the most disadvantaged areas across the UK and leaving a lasting natural legacy in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The funding is part of The National Lottery’s £22 million investment to mark the Jubilee and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust will benefit with its own project – and is currently advertising for a new officer to work with communities across the City.

Delivered by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Nextdoor Nature will give people the skills, tools, and opportunity to take action for nature. This could include establishing wild habitats and green corridors in areas of economic and nature deprivation, rewilding school grounds, or naturalising highly urbanised or unused areas. The pandemic has demonstrated just how important access to a well-cared for natural environment is to communities across the UK.

Examples of communities that Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust could work alongside include:

  • those who live in socio-economically disadvantaged areas of Nottingham
  • young people from minority ethnic communities
  • young people with disabilities
Butterfly at Bulwell

Butterfly at Bulwell

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and research shows 85% of people in nature-deprived areas say more natural spaces would improve their quality of life. The majority also say that having access to local natural spaces is more important post-pandemic. Nextdoor Nature will enable people to make this happen and in doing so, take steps to tackle the nature and climate crisis whilst also addressing important health and wellbeing needs.

Simon Thurley, Chair of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, says:

“As part of The National Lottery family’s £22m investment to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, we are delighted to launch Nextdoor Nature, a transformational initiative which will give access to the natural environment to thousands of people who may not have fully enjoyed or appreciated it before. We hope that many people will, for the first time, get hands on with nature creating a new generation of champions for our precious natural environment.”

Speaking on behalf of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Head of People & Nature Liz Fleuty said:

“We know that people want to take action to improve their neighbourhoods but often it’s hard to know where to start. Nextdoor Nature will let communities set their own agenda about the environmental issues they want to tackle and we’ll be looking at different ways of bringing people together and giving them support, skills and confidence to take the next step.”

Blue tit box (for Nextdoor Nature page)

Blue tit box near the canal in Nottingham

Thanks to the funding from the Heritage Fund, over the next two years, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust will work with communities to make more space for nature where it is needed most.

Evidence shows that people are increasingly disconnected from nature, with profound consequences for health and it also means they are less likely to protect their natural heritage.

In the words of Sir David Attenborough, President Emeritus of The Wildlife Trusts, “No-one will protect what they don’t care about; and no-one will care about what they have never experienced.”

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has championed urban nature conservation in the city for over 40 years, and has a proven track record of working with communities to make more space for nature. Over the past five years the Trust has developed innovative ways of working with young people and is one of the only Wildlife Trusts to appoint youth trustees to help guide its work.

Get involved

Details of the new role with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and other job opportunities can be found on our jobs page.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the wider project can register on the Wildlife Trust Nextdoor Nature page to receive more information.

Lottery Heritage Fund, The Queen's Jubilee 2022, The Wildlife Trusts

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