We are looking for passionate, dedicated and resourceful people to join us. If you have an interest in nature conservation and a passion for our values, we would love to hear from you.
Take a look, through some of the common species of wildlife that live in the South Yorkshire area around Sheffield and Rotherham.
A recently extended patch of heathland and woodland, neighbouring Wyming Brook.
Information and resources about actions you can take for nature's recovery in Sheffield and Rotherham.
Our Acorn Fund is a pot of money allocated specifically to help release money from the Landfill Communities Fund. Your donation can be the key to unlocking funding worth thousands of pounds to make a huge difference for local wildlife.
Five local families were brought together in Darnall by the charity and with the help of our Nature Recovery Sheffield team a mini wildlife pond became centre stage in the space.
The pond was made using an upcycled old barrel and foraged rubble, adding wildlife friendly plants to keep it healthy. Alongside the pond a raised bed was created and planted with wild flowers and pollinator-friendly perennials – the perfect complimentary habitat for invertebrates that will use the pond to breed.
“The children had a great time filling up the pond, they are always so excited to come back and see what’s inside it!”
Already the pond plants have started to flower and water beetles have been spotted.
Photo credits Lucy Graham
A once neglected, fly-tipped and boggy area in Ecclesfield has now been transformed into The Windrush Garden by a small group of volunteers led by Des Smith of the club.
Works were done to clean up and redirect the water, creating a pond and managed channel so the garden could be enjoyed by people and become an excellent habitat. The group introduced water-loving meadow plants and mature willow to compliment the habitat and aid water retention, creating a wonderful wetland.
With a vision to create a welcoming space for all and celebrate the legacy of the Windrush generation, the space is now planted with beautiful pollinator friendly species, has a dead hedge boundary and pathways and seating areas for people to enjoy. The watery space connects to the story of the Windrush generation who from 1948 came to Britain by ship to help rebuild the country after the war. The volunteers have spotted turkey tails on decaying wood, mining bees and a blackbird nest – nature is thriving alongside the community.
Photo credits Des Smith, Caribbean Sports Club
Local women lead community group Tinsley Chai visited our Centenary Riverside nature reserve for the first time where they explored the wetland reserve with our Nature Recovery Sheffield team.
Once a place of heavy industry alongside the River Don, the group enjoyed making wildflower seed balls to spread back at home, sharing stories about hedgehogs and otters, and connecting with nature alongside the tranquility of the water. One lady said “We didn’t know this place existed – it feels peaceful and the children had fun exploring here”. Another, whilst standing by the Steel Henge sculpture shared “The steel heritage of this reserve reminds us of our roots and our dads and grandads”.
Photo credits Zahira Naz
Club Captain David Stevenson took on the advice of our Community Nature Advisors and recruited a team of volunteers to rewild their grounds and make space for nature.
The group carried out the extent of works by themselves and were successful in digging a pond in a previously unused boggy area of their site and transforming the surrounding area into a habitat for mammals, birds and invertebrates. Areas of woodland were carefully managed to create glades and allow light to reach the woodland floor, and bird boxes and hedgehog houses were installed in trees around the pond, allowing the space to function as an ecosystem by pulling together habitats.
Photo credits David Stevenson
Our dedicated education and Outdoor Learning team have watery themes woven throughout their range of workshops.
Youngsters of all ages regularly visit Centenary Riverside Nature Reserve where they learn about natural, wildlife-friendly solutions for flood defence on the Don, and compare both aquatic and terrestrial species that live in the wetland habitat. At Grenoside Woods and Ecclesall Woods there are pond-dips aplenty where children learn about the importance of ponds within the woodland ecosystem, identifying different species and investigating their taxonomy. Junior geographers get their wellies on and head into local streams for river studies, measuring features, looking for creatures and investigating the ecological health of the water – “I thought only fish lived in the river!”
Photo credits Helena Dolby
When our Education team aren’t busy with Outdoor Learning sessions they’re working with local schools to help them improve their grounds for biodiversity and nature connection for children.
Dobcroft Nursery Infant School took the team’s advice and improved their existing wildlife garden into a brilliant space, centered around a wildlife pond. The garden already had lots of native planting and a seasonal stream, but a pond was added to give home to even more wildlife and for students to get involved with pond dipping and habitat studies. We returned shortly after installation to talk to early years educators about the benefits of a pond and wildlife garden, and already a range of invertebrates had moved in -demonstrating how well a pond can complement the ecosystem and be a great addition to improve biodiversity.
Photo credits Zoe Singh
Our Nature Recovery Sheffield team have been working with the community in Page Hall for a while to create wildlife friendly community gardens for all to enjoy.
Recently one of our volunteers returned to the Page Hall Medical Centre garden to install a tire pond with the help of garden ‘protector’ and local resident Naila. Plants and rocks were added to the pond to make it a great habitat and it’s added a real focus and calmness to the garden for people to enjoy. An excellent example of how unwanted materials can be upcycled and how even a small pond can bring huge benefits!
The medical centre garden along with Jamia Masjid Ghausia and OASIS Community Space gardens have also repurposed old blue barrels and transformed them into water butts. Occurring as a collaboration between the community, our team and Groundworks, the butts were installed and guttering fitted in no-time. The gardens require regular watering so this is a great, sustainable solution to prepare for dry summer months.
Photo credits Lu Watkins
A team of dedicated volunteers from our wider community have been busy at Ughill farm helping to create, improve and monitor aquatic habitats.
Aquatic invertebrates are a great way to assess the quality and ecological health of freshwater, so the team have been busy carrying out kick-samples to dislodge the invertebrates, catch them in a net and then count their numbers and total different species. This monitoring has occurred in Wet Shaw Dike which runs through the farm, and on the newly installed ponds which have made an excellent wetland habitat and we have seen lots of wildlife utilising the area already! Their efforts mean we can keep an eye on the health of the freshwater on the farm, tackle any issues and make improvements for the whole area to benefit from.
Photo credits Wendy Birks
Our volunteer rangers dedicate some of their free time to ensure there’s a friendly presence on our watery nature reserves such as Wyming Brook, Centenary Riverside, and Crabtree Ponds.
They look after these special places by litter picking, chatting to visitors, and sometimes helping with conservation tasks. Some of the messages they help us to spread are such as being aware of birds such as dippers who are known to nest on the river at Wyming Brook and keeping paws on paths.
Ian Ward, one of our rangers at Centenary Riverside says: “the good thing about volunteering here is witnessing the changes and differing wildlife, flora and fauna over the four seasons, coupled with the variety of visitors the reserve attracts.”