Thriving in a Wilder Trent: Community Engagement

12th-18th May 2025 - Mental Health Awareness Week

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Week, the Trust arranged a riverside well-being walk at Farndon as part of the Thriving in a Wilder Trent project.  The walk focused on the importance of taking a break from the hectic world we live in and how nature can support in doing this.  The day started with breathing exercises and alerting the senses to the natural world around them, mindful walking along the riverbank - using stimulus cards to focus the senses on flowers, plants, insects and birds, Qi Gong exercises aligning breathing with gentle movements and a nature journalling exercise to explore the importance of nature in our day to day lives.  

The weather was very kind and we enjoyed a picnic lunch at Farndon Ponds Nature Reserve in the spring sunshine.  A tranquil break from the hustle and bustle of daily life, with no mobile phone interruptions and dedicated time to relax and enjoy a peaceful natural world.  When asked how people felt at the end of the walk, one replied, "happy and relaxed" and another said, "I feel so relaxed - like wet spaghetti"  

18th May 2025 - RSPB Langford Lowfields

On 18^th May, RSPB held a guided walk at the Langford Lowfields site. Joe Harris, RSPB Site Manager stated,

"12 people attended the guided walk at Langford Lowfields and we saw and heard a good range of wildlife including Great White Egrets, Bitterns, Hobbies, Marsh Harrier, Red Kite, Cuckoos, Peregrine Falcon and Roe Deer. In fact, we saw a grand total of 60 species of birds. We also saw the wonderous new SSF-funded polytunnel and I talked about the up-coming reed translocation scheduled for August."

Himalayan balsam

Himalayan balsam is a plant native to western and central Himalayas. It was brought to the UK in 1839, due to its beautiful flowers and striking leaves and stem. However, like many plant species brought across it soon escaped and has since been causing many problems for our native species.

As part of the project, we are delivering various 'balsam-bashing' projects across sites.

These include:

21st May  - Netherfield Lagoons

18th June - Netherfield Lagoons

2nd July - Iremongers Pond

16th July - Netherfield Lagoons

11+12 July - Attenborough

30th July - Netherfield Lagoons

If you want to get involved as an individual, or part of a community group or business, you can find these events and sign up on our Events page.

We have also compiled this useful toolkit for identifying and safely removing the plant:

11-12 July 2025 - Big Balsam Bash at Attenborough Nature Reserve

We undertook a Big Balsam Bash at Attenborough Nature Reserve on 11th and 12th July 2025 - in the scorching heat with lots of enthusiastic volunteers we blasted our way through shaded portions of the reserve, helping to reduce the amount of this pesky non native species on our site.

This project is funded by the Government's Species Survival Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm's-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency.