Community Stories – discover what other local people are doing for nature

Find information and inspiration from our library of case studies, showcasing the efforts of local individuals and groups to improve their communities for people and wildlife.

© Images taken for the Wild About Gardens launch 12th March 2019

  • Abbeydale Street Trees – Abbeydale Street Trees are working with the local community to transform Abbeydale Road into a green corridor with greater biodiversity and less air pollution. There are two primary schools along the road, churches and mosques, a really busy community, but nothing for people to enjoy along the street. And we wanted to make a difference and try to change that somehow. 🌳
  • All Saints Ecclesall Churchyard Project – All Saints Ecclesall felt it was important to provide a balance between the maintenance of a functioning graveyard whilst also encouraging wildlife and diversity. In 2007 a vegetation survey was carried out, the results from which have informed management decisions that aim to enhance wildlife in the churchyard. ⛪
  • The Apple Shack – eco-friendly cafe in north Sheffield who have improved their working practices and premises for nature.
  • Anna’s Urban Garden – after noticing how nature had begun to establish new habitats in the car park surrounding her flat, Anna began adding wildflower meadows, insect and hedgehog hotels using recycled materials. Click here to watch a video of Anna’s garden. Film by Ali Farash. 🌼
  • Buckthorn for Brimstones Initiative – a partnership between Nether Edge and Sharrow Sustainable Transformation (NESST) and SRWT, seeking to increase the local brimstone butterfly population by planting buckthorn, the larval host plant of the species. 🦋
  • Christ Church Dore – The church wanted to encourage a return of naturally occurring wildlife in their churchyard, making the most out of it as a green space. They wanted to combine rewilding with encouraging community use of the churchyard as a welcoming outdoor space. ⛪
  • Dore & Totley Golf Club – Club Captain David Stevenson is ‘Making time and Space for Nature’ as the theme of his one-year tenure. He aims to make the golf club more friendly for nature and wildlife and hopefully inspire other clubs to do the same. ⛳
  • Environmental Action South Yorkshire (EASY) – used the Nature Recovery toolkit with support from RMBC, the local community and Sheffield & Rotherham WIldlife Trust to work with schools, the parish council and residents to improve their local areas. 🌼
  • Greener Greenhill – An example newsletter from this network supporting nature and climate initiatives for the Greenhill area of Sheffield. 👪
  • Heeley Green Triangle – Learn about how a network of people in Heeley came together to take local actions on climate change and for nature, and socialising as a community. 👪
  • Hedgehog Friendly Campus – Following a talk about hedgehogs at SRWT by guest speaker Hugh Warwick, Jo Wilkinson launched the Hedgehog Friendly Campus Programme, funded by The Hedgehog Preservation Society – now a national programme, with over 150 campuses registered. 🦔
  • Helping Environmental Regeneration in Broomhall (HERB) – Initially starting with greening some balconies and borders of some flats 20 years ago, HERB now manage four green spaces, working with local volunteers to improve their community and increase biodiversity. 👪
  • Helping hedgehogs in the garden – Jon and Trisha’s Rotherham garden is now a haven for prickly visitors 🦔
  • Friends of Herringthorpe Playing Fields – a Friends Of group looking after their local greenspace for the benefit of people and wildlife in the centre of Rotherham 🌳
  • How to: Choose plants for wildlife gardening – Recommendations for plants and other resources to make your garden a haven for people and wildlife. With thanks to Ben Keywood (Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust and entomologist) and Fran Halsall (Garden Services Manager at Regather Cooperative and Nature Educator at Naturally Focused) for the use of these lists.
  • How to: Choose peat free compost – Peat is a precious natural resource which takes thousands of years to regenerate, so it’s vitally important that it’s left in the wild where it belongs. Find out more about this and where to find peat free compost locally.
  • How to: Understand the planning system in relation to the natural environment – Nicky Rivers, Living Landscape Development Manager explains how the planning system works and can be influenced to bring benefits for nature’s recovery and connect people to nature.
  • Kids Plant Trees – was set up by a group of (tired!) mums of young children in January 2020. They wanted something practical to do with little ones that made them feel like they were taking proactive action to help climate, nature and wildlife.
  • Meersbrook and Heeley Community Gardens Map – Find out how local people created a walking trail map of 14 community gardens to encourage visits and volunteering. 🌼
  • Nature Recovery Sheffield Nature Heroes film – featuring Owlthorpe Fields Action Group, Kids Plant Trees, Abbeydale Street Trees, various churches from the Diocese of Sheffield, Nether Edge and Sharrow Sustainable Transformation and Greener Greenhill
  • Owlthorpe Fields Action Group – How an action group and their community have worked to protect threatened local green space by recording the wildlife that lives there. 👪
  • Redmires Toad Patrol – a local wildlife enthusiast group who patrol the road at Redmires during the six weeks of toad migration during the spring. 🐸
  • RNN Group, Dearne Valley College – discover how the college became a Hedgehog-friendly campus after joining Nature Recovery Rotherham, and what they are doing next. 🦔
  • Rustlings Road Allotment Society – making space for nature as well as food! Sharing skills and knowledge,to become an inspiration for other allotment sites in the city. 🥕
  • Sheffield Litter Pickers – A local group of volunteers working hard to stop rubbish blocking up our rivers and littering our green spaces. 🗑️
  • St Marks Broomhill and Broomhill Environment Group – Learn about what the group did to make the green on which the church sits more nature friendly, as well as providing an outdoor resource and community space. ⛪
  • Stop Using Glyphosate Campaign – Find out more about this local lobbying campaign calling on Sheffield City Council to stop the use of Glyphosate, a herbicide known to have significant ecological impacts, with particular concern regarding insects and other animals which depend on them for food. 🌱
  • Swift groups in Sheffield – Swifts were added to the UK’s red list of birds significantly under threat in 2021. Find out more about the local groups in Sheffield taking action to help them. 🐤
  • Swift Action: The story of S6 Swifts film
  • Urban greening in Sheffield – Examples of existing urban greening in Sheffield – parks, roofs, walls, verges and more. 🏡
  • Friends of Wardsend Cemetery bird monitoring project – Learn about the group’s bird monitoring project, a monthly survey recording bird species in the cemetery in conjunction with Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust and Don Catchment Rivers Trust. 🐤
  • Friends of Wardsend Cemetery moth recording project – The group ran some moth recording sessions in the cemetery, which had been identified as an example of a habitat that was under-recorded for moths. 🦋
  • Wild Sharrow – Video about a community group have improved their local park for people and wildlife. 🌳
  • The Wildlife Gardening Company – Matt’s career change led to looking after nature through his gardening business 🌼
  • Friends of Whirlow Brook Park – an active volunteering group who undertake practical gardening and maintenance work. A successful National Lottery Community Fund bid allowed them to run free practical workshops and talks. 🌳
  • Wilder Walkley – getting the local community involved doing good things in previously unloved green spaces. 🦋