The National Lottery Heritage Fund has 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 £22million investment to mark the Jubilee and Herefordshire will benefit with its own project.

Delivered by Herefordshire 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 Herefordshire Wildlife Trust will work alongside include:

• Groups in the Ridgemoor, Grange and Gateway areas of Leominster
• Schools and local groups in the John Kearle area of Leominster
• Community centres in Hereford City.

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.”

Liz Bonnin, President of The Wildlife Trusts, says:

“We humans are key to solving the climate crisis and restoring our natural heritage. The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, but Nextdoor Nature is working to set that right, putting local communities at the heart of helping our wild places to recover, and making sure that no matter where we live, we can be part of this crucial endeavour.

“The Wildlife Trusts are firmly rooted in communities and can provide support and advice to those willing to lead the charge in bringing wildlife back to homes and workplaces – in turn inspiring those around them to do the same. we can achieve incredible things when we work together!”

Sarah King, Community Engagement Officer at Herefordshire Wildlife Trust says:

“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. We want to help people to discover the parks, footpaths and school grounds on their doorstep – and help them to improve them for both wildlife and for their own communities”

Thanks to the funding from the Heritage Fund, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust will support groups and schools from Bormyard, Leominster, Ross-on-Wye and Hereford over the next two years to rewild communities who currently see their local area deprived of natural places to enjoy. 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.”

Herefordshire Wildlife Trust has experience in rewilding communities:

Their Nature Tots project works with families in 10% most deprived communities in the country. The project works with many children, under the age of 5 with delayed development and provides an opportunity for their learning to develop whilst involved in outdoor activities. The project works with other local projects to reach those families who are hardest to reach and to ensure that their children have the opportunity to experience the benefits of outdoor activities. Currently funded by Children in Need and the Brailsford Trust.

Their WildPlay team provide free drop-in activity sessions in communities in Herefordshire (Including south Hereford, Ross-on-Wye and Leominster). The team go directly to these communities and so remove any barriers to travel that might otherwise exist. The project aims to give children an opportunity to experience a ‘wilder’ type of playing and to improve their relationship with the natural world that they might not otherwise get to experience.

Anyone interested in finding out more can register here to receive information: wildlifetrusts.org/nextdoor-nature