Niall Benvie/2020VISION
Community Action Week 27-31 October
Sharing the stories of your community action for nature!
We’ve got that Friday Feeling today – the final day of Community Action Week. Yes, it’s Hallowe’en, but we’re focussing on fun, frolics and positivity.
Let’s kick off with this incredible video from the Green Hearts group and Norfolk Wildlife Trust in Norwich. If that doesn’t set you off in a good mood for the day, what will?
Maybe this will! Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust and their joint partnership Restoring the Soar project tells us about the ospreys and what they mean to the people of Leicester.
What about Cumbria Wildlife Trust? They told us about how staff from a Medical Centre have spent the last year developing giant raised planters left by the builders with no clear purpose, and the general centre ground into wildlife friendly areas. They’ve consulted volunteers from other organisations and involved patient volunteers too, and worked with Barnardos to involve kids in the process, and their employer has paid for a staff member to attend their eight-week wildlife gardening course to support them on the journey.
We also love this story from Avon Wildlife Trust. In their words:
"Transforming a garden, transforming a mindset: How one small space is making a big difference
In Warmley, Myles has turned his mother Jen’s garden into a thriving wildlife haven, one step at a time. Caring for his mum, Myles was inspired by a flyer from the Warmley Community Nature Reserve and support from Avon Wildlife Trust to start planting pollinator-friendly flowers. That led to removing an old wooden patio, creating a wildflower meadow, adding a pond, bird feeders, bug hotels, and even a well-placed bird box.
The result? A space that supports birds, bees, butterflies and daily joy to Jen, to passers-by and to Myles himself. “Doing this has made me feel accomplished and happy. But more than that—happy for my mum. She loves it. The colours, the smells, the wildlife.”
It’s also led to a deeper personal shift: “I’ve always liked nature, but now I see it differently—I care about every insect.”
Through the Community Nature Reserve, Myles has also helped create shared wildflower spaces in his local area, offered support to neighbours and helped build a growing network of nature-minded residents.
This story is a powerful reminder that climate and biodiversity action starts close to home. Even small green spaces, when connected through community efforts, can build climate resilience, bring back wildlife and encourage wellbeing and joy.
Learn more about the amazing Warmley Community Nature Reserves: https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/warmley-nature-action-zone
Down south, Kent Wildlife Trust are working with https://wildwithwheels.com/ to facilitate nature experiences and increase accessibility for all.
And Surrey Wildlife Trust have done amazing things to revitalise Unstead Wetland Nature Reserve.
There’s loads of good news from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. In Southampton, the under-fives story time during Green Libraries Week led to a meeting with a local resident who ended up joining the Millbrook Road East planting project. And in Portsmouth, Pompey in the Community (Pompey ITC), a small urban space outside their Anson Road building in Portsmouth is being transformed into a vibrant, wildlife-friendly area that reflects both the spirit of the football club and the community it serves.
The project, led by Laura Buckle from Pompey ITC in collaboration with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, is turning an otherwise grey concrete forecourt into a welcoming green space for local residents, visitors, and fans heading to nearby Fratton Park.
Upcycled ‘football planters’ have been crated - old footballs repurposed as hanging planters filled with pollinator-friendly flowers and herbs such as lavender, marjoram, and thyme. These planters will help bring colour, scent, and biodiversity to the site while celebrating the club’s sporting heritage.
Future plans include adding more greenery and small trees in pots to provide shade, installing insect boxes to support local wildlife, and possibly creating a mural linking football, community, and local nature. On match days, the area will provide a welcoming, greener seating space for fans and community users alike.
This partnership demonstrates how sport, creativity, and community action can come together to make even the smallest spaces greener, more inviting, and better for nature.
We hope you have enjoyed finding out a little more about the work of Wildlife Trusts across the UK all week. Please do find your local Wildlife Trust here, and see how you can get involved!
Yesterday we were trying to counteract doom and hopelessness by celebrating Hope Week – and all things to do with the passion, activism and energy of young people.
The Wildlife Trust’s annual Hope Week is coming soon! From Monday 24th – Friday 28th November 2025, you’ll have the opportunity to join in with a wide range of activities through social media. Hope Week is all about positive vibes and connecting to nature in a way that suits you! So check out The Wildlife Trusts TikTok and Instagram during Hope Week 2025, and join our growing Discord community ‘The Good Vibe Hive’ for more information: https://discord.gg/Du3xhsXX
And all around the UK, young people and emerging adults are getting involved with nature in their areas.
Find out what Surrey Wildlife Trust’s Youth Action Committee has been up to in their “Wrapped” video on YouTube and read about the experiences of their work experience trainees in their blog.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust has worked with Pride in North Cumbria, an organisation in Carlisle that supports LGBTQ+ youth made a giant devils bit scabious and marsh fritillary butterfly to feature in their diversity parade, and volunteers made 200 seed bombs to give away with their free packed lunches on the day. Plus, a group of young people from The King’s Trust came and helped Carlisle Sea Cadets for their community project – spending two weeks creating and planting flower and veg beds, and adding bird boxes to the Sea Cadets centre. The Sea Cadets have ambitions to open up the centre as a free community space for everyone to use. Read about these things and more on Cumbria’s website.
Kent Wildlife Trust is doing amazing things too. Check out Instagram to find out about the Little Artlings Dover community art group, uniting parents/guardians and children with nature-inspired creativity, plant-based food and conscious living. And then there’s the Future Foundry, another arts youth-based arts initiative, currently collaborating with KWT, English Heritage on the Legit Explorers Club.
And as part of Kent’s Blue Influencers Scheme | Kent Wildlife Trust, they are working with a wide range of young people included unaccompanied asylum seeker and refugee children. Find out more about their work here.
Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust’s project, Restoring the Soar, has been working with students from Leicester College on an art and design exhibition for the theme of their urban module. This resulted in a summer long exhibition at a local independent cafe to start bringing the river back into focus - some people in Leicester told the Trust they didn't even know a river ran through it.
Let’s hear it for everyone working for nature’s recovery – and especially for young people and future generations. They are setting a great example. Can we follow their lead?
© Tay Aziz
Whatever your motivation, it's time to join in!
On Wednesday, we were focussing on health and well-being. How do you feel? While we hope you’re feeling well, we know that things are tough. And while there’s no magic cure for all ills, we also know that being outside, and noticing nature, can help people to feel a little bit better. It might not make the bad stuff go away, but it can give you a boost and improve your mood.
And that’s not anecdotal. It’s proven. It’s science!
Jessica and Wendy, two occupational therapists from Kent, know this all too well. They say, “We are passionate about gardening and the benefits it brings to everyone’s mental and physical health. We want everyone to know that gardening is possible anywhere - from a windowsill pot to a four-acre plot. It is possible to grow plants and your wellbeing whatever the space.” And with that, The Sage Network was created. Find out more in their recent moving video here.
Getting out into nature doesn’t have to be a massive expedition. You can take a moment to notice the natural world wherever you are – whether that’s admiring the clouds from your window, to seeing colourful wildflowers on your commute. Volunteers working with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust have made that a little bit easier by creating plants at Stafford Railway Station; read more here.
So whatever else you do today, make time to look out of a window or, even better, get outside if you can. Take a deep breath. Take two deep breaths. Open your eyes. What do you see?
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust 2025
On Tuesday we were celebrating campaigning for change.
It can be hard to raise your voice and stand out. Charging around with banners, or confronting those in power – it’s not for everyone.
But everyone has a part to play. If there’s something you believe in, you can find a way to be heard, in a way that’s both comfortable for you and effective for the cause.
For these people in Penrith, they wanted a community orchard. Alone, one or two people could not have done it – but together, and supported by Cumbria Wildlife Trust, they have managed it! Check out their short video here.
Do you have a front garden? If you’re lucky enough to have some outside space, be inspired by Sarah from Avon who set up a low-key gardening award on her street in Bath. Avon Wildlife Trust says, “She also recognised that her garden alone would not make a huge difference to the nature and climate crisis. But a whole street of nature-friendly front gardens? That had power and potential. If everyone on her street did something for nature in their front garden - if someone created a pond, others grew wildflowers, had native hedges, created habitats and homes for birds, bugs and hedgehogs, they could create a continuous habitat. An urban green corridor connecting wildlife across the neighbourhood. Community and connectivity is key. By working together, supporting each other and making social connections – benefits and joy shared with local residents as well as wildlife.” Read more about her idea and the results here.
What if your nearest outside space is the sea? With thousands of miles of coastline, that’s a lot of people – and the sea needs us. Discover the energy and passion of the Mounts Bay Marine Group in Marazion, Cornwall, where volunteers are undertaking a natural, ecosystem-based approach to coastal management. Cornwall Wildlife Trust says, “This is conservation in action: community-led, nature-based, and future-focused. And it’s happening right here in Cornwall.”
It’s not just Wildlife Trusts who are campaigning for change. The innovative grassroots movement, Incredible Edible, has long been campaigning for a Right to Grow. Their recent video tells their story – what is it, why it is important, and how we can all imagine, and then build, the future.
We’ve made it easy to tell MPs what you think. We can send a postcard to them – a real, physical thing – on your behalf, and it won’t cost you a penny. Speak up for the wildlife and wild places we all depend on by following this link and filling in your thoughts. We’ll do the rest. Defend Nature postcards
Follow the hashtag #TeamWilder on social media, and remember to check in every day! We can't wait to celebrate with you.
Susan Freeman/Staffordshire Wildlife Trust
On Monday, we were celebrating the power of group action.
Think about it – we’re all part of the natural world. We ARE nature! We’re part of the biggest global community there is.
And when we work together, amazing things happen.
Look at Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust: they are on a mission to get people pledging patches of land for their massive People’s Nature Reserve here – could YOU do the same? 👉Gloucestershire’s People’s Nature Reserves
What about Warwickshire Wildlife Trust? They supported the locals of Attleborough with their river surveys. Then Attleborough Wildlife Watchers managed to get their local MP down – not to the river, but actually IN the river, doing the survey for herself. Find out more here! 👉 WarwickshireWildlife Trust
Where will you be in ten years’ time? If you start now, then in a decade, you could be celebrating ten years of success like this Norbury Park Conservation Group in Surrey!
But you don’t need to be a huge group to make a difference. Also in Surrey is this couple, dedicated to improving roadside verges.
In fact, we have dozens more amazing stories to delight and inspire you on our Community Hub.
So why not seek out your local Wildlife Trust and discover the power of community action today?