Wilder Nottinghamshire

Every Tuesday morning, a small group of volunteers from the Martin Jackaman Centre (MJC) head out into Attenborough Nature Reserve, tending to the space with care, intention and joy.

The group, made up of adults with learning difficulties and supported by their dedicated staff, have chosen Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust as their charity of the year. But they didn’t want to simply fundraise. They wanted to give something back. And so began a partnership rooted in mutual respect, shared values, and the healing power of nature.

In return, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has been supporting the MJC’s Garden Club with tailored ecological advice to even further enhance their green space as a wildlife haven. MJC had already put in a wildlife pond, created a mini hedgehog wood, a bug hotel and put up nest boxes. Lorna, City Nature Recovery Officer from NWT, has given more detailed advice on the ongoing management and further enhancements they can make.

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Heather, an asylum seeker from Zimbabwe, started a litter pick her local area in Sneinton. The litter pick started in April 2023, and has run monthly since then. Heather describes the project best in her own words:

‘I’m Heather I’m 46, and one day a project started a few months ago and we didn’t think much of it, it took time to start, but when we started it kicked off and I found that I was enjoying it really. To be honest because you’re more outside not inside all the time (because of the litter picking), and it gives you time. The reason why I enjoyed it is I was able to do it with my 6 year old son, which is good because there are some projects you can’t do with anyone, so being able to do it with him and a few people joining in it was good and I really enjoyed it.

Heather spoke about some of the challenges of the litter pick ‘Some people have been saying “oh the place looks nice” but joining in has been hard for other people. Most of the time it is because of communication, telling someone that this is what we are doing, they think its work and if its work they need to be paid. So maybe next time going to do it in different languages so that people can understand it is voluntary work instead of paid work.’

Heather talks about her son, Tatenda, getting involved in the litter picks ‘I’m just showing him that if you see dirt you can pick it up put somewhere its supposed to be and he knows what to do. And when he sees litter he says “oh mummy look people are putting litter everywhere” which is sort of teaching him in a way which is easier. When he’s got his hi vis on he enjoys it which is good’

‘It's been quite eye opening because I didn’t think people throw away things that I’ve seen, because you see all sorts when you’re litter picking there’s things that you think people would just know that, even next to a bin you find rubbish. So it makes you really see that some people are not that bothered about the area they are in but when you see what you have done at the end (of the litter pick), it’s beautiful.’

Found at the Norfolk Road Allotments, Long Eaton Community Garden (LECG) is a bustling hub for nature and nature-lovers alike. Volunteers help to manage a thriving non-profit organic garden, displaying the perfect union between sustainable food production and making space for wildlife.

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The weekly wellness walks at Idle Valley, made possible with a joint effort between Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and Lincolnshire Co-op, provide an important connection to nature and other people.

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Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers at Idle Valley teamed up with Bassetlaw Action Centre to take action for nature by building a beaver sculpture out of aluminium cans.

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A church in Basford, Nottingham has adopted a derelict strip of land and converted it into a community garden. The land is owned by a housing association which owns flats adjacent to the strip of land. After getting permission to work on the land, a team from Basford Road Baptist Church painted the fence, cleared the weeds and rubbish, dug over the ground and covered it with bark. Trees and shrubs were then planted in the garden and they involved two local schools, Old Basford and Whitemoor Primary Schools, in planting 200 daffodil bulbs. Their next steps are to continue to plant shrubs in the garden, and keep building links with the local community. If you have any shrubs (preferably no bigger than 3ft x 3ft) or smaller which you would like to donate to the garden, please contact wilder@nottswt.co.uk and we will put you in touch with the group.

Rosemary Buckley, who is a member of the church, describes how they are planting up the community garden "We have acquired shrubs from members and friends of the church and Reuben Shaw Garden Centre gave us a flowering cherry tree for free. Linda Woodings our local Councillor and Wendy Russell Community Development Officer have been very interested and involved and kindly made some money available for us to buy more shrubs. Alex Norris, the local MP, has also visited the Community Garden. Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has offered advice and encouragement and provided the garden with a bat box and a robin’s nest box, made by prisoners at Notttingham Prison."

Matthew Darlington, who is a young person involved in the Church and the community garden, describes why creating space for nature in Basford is so important "We are trying to help people to notice wildlife so they will care for it. Wildlife is in decline because of climate change. If we care for wildlife, we care for the planet. Nature is beautiful and cheers people up."

Rosemary continues, "As a church, we believe that nature is God’s creation and we have made respect for His creation part of our ethos as a community church."

Looking forward, Rosemary says "We want to encourage positive links with the community, particularly with those residents who live in the nearby Housing Association"

Matthew continues, "At the moment we are hopefully going to get the youth involved to make some more bat boxes and bird boxes for the community garden and our church garden. As we live in a city area, it important to bring wildlife to the people so they can experience wildlife for themselves."

Canopy 2050 is a community project in Broxtowe, aiming to increase the urban tree canopy to 30%. To achieve this goal, they collect seeds from specific native trees and give them to volunteer tree guardians who grow the seedlings until the saplings are big enough to plant in areas around Broxtowe. Through this project, there are now thousands of saplings being cared for by tree guardians all over Nottingham. If you want to get involved with this brilliant project, contact Helene via the Canopy 2050 Facebook group.

Helene describes what inspired her to create Canopy 2050 “Well I’ve just really noticed over the last few years the difference in temperature in summer when walking on streets that have lots of trees around and places that don’t. I just think the more trees we can get into the urban area, then the cooler it’s going to keep us in the future. I think an important part of it as well is not just encouraging single trees here and there for shade, but if we can have a lot more areas where there’s a lot more trees all together then that’s so much better for all the smaller creatures too and to make green corridors and green patches here there and everywhere.”

On the benefits to people, Helene says, “Growing trees is so satisfying - it actually gives a lot of pleasure to plant tree seeds and see your little tree seedlings coming up. You feel that excitement when you see your saplings first pop up and you know your tiny seedling might grow into a huge tree. I hear that in other peoples’ voices too, that kind of excitement when their seeds germinate.”

Helene continues “I’m just really encouraged by the way people respond to the project - there’s nearly 500 people growing now which is just amazing, it’s just genuinely people really want to do what they can, because people feel so powerless against this massive climate problem. I really hope that the people stay interested and look after the younger saplings that there are around them, not necessarily just the ones that they’ve planted. In this warming climate we need to give young trees a helping hand to make it to adulthood.”

Whitemoor Allotments in Basford, are turning a neglected and overgrown plot into a thriving space for nature, showcasing how the local community can make an outdoor space wildlife friendly. Plot holders, volunteers and allotment committee members are removing rubbish including plastic, metal, glass, and buildings from plot 128, which has been misused for many years. The group would eventually like to transform the plot into a wildlife haven, including different habitats, a pond, and trees in the final design, which will be created by the community at the allotment. The allotments already have regular visitors including bats, foxes, birds of prey, as well as many insects!

Pat Gordon, allotment committee member says "more and more wildlife habitats are being destroyed so whatever you can do to help will always be beneficial for wildlife… This plot will be a centre for the whole site to try and encourage wildlife and hopefully they will thrive and expand their range across the whole of the allotment site and into the local environment."

Pat continues, "one of the most important things about an allotment site is actually the social aspect to it and we’ve even had social nights down here, we come and have a chat. With all the people coming down here, it gives them a stake in the plot and I think that sense of belonging and achievement is very important to people."

Read more about the plot via the blog.

While the allotment has a dedicated team of volunteers, they are raising funds to buy the necessary materials to create habitats for wildlife. For more information, visit the group's website.

Join Harri, Wilder Nottinghamshire Officer (North) on a trip to Rhubarb farm to learn more about the groups we connect with to build and shape our Wilder Nottinghamshire network...

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Join Harri, Wilder Nottinghamshire Officer (North) when she went aboard Python The Workboat to learn more about how the volunteers aboard are taking action for nature…

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Read all about the rewilding of a field in Strelley.

The Field