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In November 2021- March 2023 Staffordshire Wildlife Trust led an exciting GRCF project to help connect urban areas with nature. Wilder Stoke Wilder Newcastle was delivered by the Trust along with colleagues from Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council.
Liz Peck GRCF Wilder Stoke Wilder Newcastle Project Manager: “Following on from the successful ERDF Sunrise project in the areas of Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, we will focus on eight sites across the urban landscape owned either by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust or the local authorities. We are focusing on increasing habitat diversity and connectivity.” The eight sites are: Central Forest Park, Parrots Drumble, Hem Heath Woods, Bateswood, Coyney Woods, Chatterley Whitfield Heritage Park, Holden Lane Pools and Lymedale Business Park.
The Wilder Stoke Wilder Newcastle project was about creating more diverse and resilient habitats across those sites, as well as improving access to and awareness of urban habitats. This approach leads to those habitats supporting a wider range of species in greater abundance. For example, amenity grassland is very common in urban green spaces but is either mown regularly and kept short, or left without any management at all. Neither provide diverse habitats, with only a handful of species present in often over-enriched soil. By using meadow management methods, such as taking an annual cut of hay, reintroducing wildflowers and other herb species, we can restore healthy and suitable soil conditions to produce a diverse range of flowers. This will support pollinators – insects such as butterflies, bees and hoverflies. As small birds and mammals arrive to feed on the increasing food sources, both seeds and invertebrates, eventually predators will follow such as sparrow hawks, kestrels and owls.
Our Community Engagement team encouraged communities in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme to visit their local green spaces. We offered local walks, litter picks, school visits and wildfamilies events. Providing opportunities for local residents to learn about their local wildlife and enjoy the greenspaces.
We also assembled and distributed nature packs for families and community packs for groups to inspire future engagement.
The project successfully engaged with over 3,000 people who wanted to help nature and wildlife!
Working with local volunteers and organisations, we were able to survey and work on the nature sites. Our goal for the project was to develop a network of connected sites to help nature recovery across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is especially important for urban wildlife that we keep and make better current space for nature white creating the ability for species to move across urban areas.
The project created nearly 7 hectares of new wildflower meadows!
This project was funded by the Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund (GRCF). The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm’s-Length Bodies. It was delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency and Forestry Commission. Projects funded by the GRCF will boost environmental renewal, restore nature and tackle climate change.
www.wilderstokewildernewcastle.co.uk/
Funded by Know your Neighbourhood we were able to develop our collective understanding of what works to improve wellbeing and pride in place through volunteering and community initiatives tackling loneliness. Citizens participated in local events and activities which build their skills, wellbeing and social networks.
– We delivered regular wildlife walks covering 26 local greenspaces across Stoke-on-Trent – where attendees could explore a local greenspace, meet like minded people and find out how to help record the wildlife on their doorstep.
– We continued our Roving Rangers initiative, including seasonal opportunities to walk our lovely Hem Heath woodland.
– Working with local community groups we offered events to build or improve nature based skills.
