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.
Help stop the badger cull coming to Sheffield and Rotherham!
Unveil the hidden world of insects in Sheffield & Rotherham with the newest issue of Kingfisher magazine.
Find out more about nature and environment community groups in your area.
The following list details many of the local groups that engage with nature and environmental issues in Sheffield and Rotherham. Only information which is available in the public domain is included here.
The Beauchief Environment Group is made up of volunteers and local people who give their time to conserve the beautiful woodlands, meadows and abundant wildlife of Beauchief. Volunteers undertake maintenance and conservation tasks as well as engaging the public through social outings and walks.
The Blue Loop is an 8 mile network of waterways and rivers in Sheffield. The Friends of Blue Loop is made up of volunteers from the local community who actively conserve and look after the wildlife and habitats of the Blue Loop.
Bolehills is a charming little park nestled in Crookes, and provides a great area for dog walking and picnics. The Friends of Bole Hills work to improve the park and encourage local people to enjoy the area through exciting events such as fireworks displays.
Friends of Brampton Graveyard is a small, local community group who help to care for and tend to the grounds at Christ Church, West Melton, Rotherham. We meet on Wednesday mornings from 10am and welcome new volunteers to our group.
The Friends of Brincliffe Edge Wood work with Sheffield City Council to protect the wildlife of Brincliffe Edge Woods. Volunteers have worked alongside City Council Rangers to plant bulbs, construct wildlife habitats, and keep the woods clean with litter picking.
The Friends of Burngreave Chapel & Cemetery group was set up to make the cemetery and chapel buildings accessible to everybody and to educate and enlighten visitors into not only its history, but its wildlife, trees and plants, which overlap and interact.
The Friends of Chapeltown Park and Wood work with local authorities to improve the protection and conservation of Chapeltown Park and Wood. Alongside this, they encourage local people to enjoy the park as a recreation and leisure area.
Friends of Charlton Brook are an environmental group consisting of local people who aim to restore Charlton Brook and the dam to its former glory. They organise litter picks and fund raising events and work with other environmental groups.
The Friends of Chelsea Park look after the park including managing its wildflower area, cutting and raking it every year.
The Friends Group aims to improve facilities and the environment of Concord Park and Woolley Wood by working in partnership with Sheffield City Council including holding monthly work mornings with the help of the Ranger Service to restore the long neglected shrubberies. There are also plans for the disused bowling greens.
The Friends of Coronation Park are a voluntary organisation who work to maintain and improve the park on Station Road in Oughtibridge. They aim to encourage residents to use and improve the park, and to carry out and promote both environmental improvement and practical conservation, to educate, encourage and support the local population in environmental practice by working with statutory and non statutory agencies.
Our aim is to promote the beauty, tranquility and diversity of South Yorkshire’s countryside for everyone to enjoy now and in the future. Our roles include planning watchdog, principled campaigners, supporter of community groups, advocate for high standards in landscape and building design, and champion of sustainable countryside development.
The Don Catchment Rivers Trust works to involve local people in the conservation of the River Don, and encourage betterment of the River through contact with local government. Educational activities and conservation projects help the DCRT to reconnect the people of Sheffield with the River Don.
The Friends of Ecclesall Woods aims are to protect, preserve, and investigate the Woods, and to pass on the knowledge so found. It has groups concentrating on Footpaths and restoration, Ecology and Archaeology; it also holds evening talks and organises walks.
The Friends of Ecclesfield Park aim to create a focal point for the expanding village ensuring a safe, fun and tranquil environment for sport, leisure and other community activities. We organise events and activities in the Park and develop and maintain the Community Garden.
Our aim is to use land for rewilding projects that includes all-comers who want to get involved. We have experience of working with children, young people, and adults and cordially invite anyone to join in. We are particularly welcoming of anyone who identifies as Black, LGBTQ+, as having mental health problems or disabilities. The Covid-19 crisis temporarily halted our main activities, but the climate crisis carries on, therefore so do we by continuing to lobby for an equitable, clean and green future.
The Friends of Firth Park are a group of local people who volunteer their time to improve the facilities and environment of the park. They are also involved in long term plans to improve the park, including the now completed round walk project, the refurbishment of the old boating lake, and gathering public views and offering advice about future plans and projects. The group also helps in the hosting and running of events which have included Concerts, Halloween Parties, Christmas Singalongs and stalls at the Summer funday.
The Friends group works to improve and maintain the area for the pleasure, education and safety of local residents and visitors.
Friends of Gilcrest Wood and Meadow (FoGWaM) offers sympathetic care to conserve and encourage natural flora and fauna and generally improve the wild space of Gilcrest Wood and Meadow. It holds working days, events and family days, plants shrubs, clears litter, maintains dry stone walls, monitors Japanese Knotweed and puts up and monitors bird boxes.
The group aims to protect and conserve the wood, encourage biodiversity, learn about the wood and involve the public in events. We are involved in maintenance, researching the history of the wood, surveying and mapping its flora, fauna and woodland archaeology. We organise many events including conservation work days, surveys, talks and family events.
The Gleadless Valley Wildlife Trust is a local voluntary group working to care for and improve the green spaces of Gleadless Valley in Sheffield for the benefit of wildlife and people. We particularly concentrate our efforts towards the woodlands and larger green spaces in the valley.
Group helps to monitor planning applications and conservation area. We work in the local woodlands to maintain and conserve the habitats, regular clean ups and practical conservation tasks are held.
Heeley City Farm identifies, confronts and addresses the problems of poverty, inequality, prejudice and lack of opportunity in our inner city community by supporting and promoting community regeneration and self help within environmentally friendly and self-sustaining systems, using the background of a mini farm, community gardens and related resources. The Farm runs regular bird walks and gardening courses.
Friends of Herringthorpe Playing Fields have been looking after their local green space in the heart of Rotherham for the benefit of people and wildlife.
The Friends of Hillsborough Park want to make Hillsborough Park a place that improves health and wellbeing for all. We aim to make the park a greener place for people and wildlife and a place with facilities for all the community.
We are a group of people who would like to live in a litter free community. We regularly hold litter picking meet-ups around the local area.
We are a newly established environmental and community interest group that aims to improve the Park as a community facility and a home for wildlife.
The Friends of Loxley Valley aims to help care for the Loxley Valley, to showcase its wonderful qualities and when necessary to protect and defend it. They are continuing the work of the former Loxley Valley Protection Society and its founder members, who worked steadfastly for many years to help to safeguard the valley.
Volunteers at Manor Fields park hold weekly working parties to actively clear and maintain the many different habitat areas of the park. They raise awareness of wildlife in the Park as well as promoting health and researching the history of the area.
Meersbrook Park Users Trust consists of local residents and park users. Its aims are to regenerate and develop new facilities, promote community activities within the park, and promote the protection, conservation and improvement of the environment of the Park.
The Moors for the Future Partnership has been working in the Peak District and South Pennines since 2003 with three objectives: to raise awareness of why the moors are valuable and to encourage responsible use and care of the landscape; to restore and conserve moorland resources; and to develop expertise on how to protect and manage the moors sustainably.
The Moss Valley Wildlife Group run a range of activities enjoying and promoting the wildlife of the Moss Valley: wildlife walks, plant and mammal surveys, fungus walks, hands-on conservation work, recording of species, as well as talks and social evenings.
NESST, Nether Edge and Sharrow Sustainable Transformation, is a common endeavour by the community of Nether Edge and Sharrow to watch over, maintain and improve our urban environment. We aim to enhance our green spaces, increase the biodiversity of our area, and combat the effects of the climate crisis.
The Friends of Parkwood Springs help to protect and conserve the wildlife and the natural environment of the green space of Parkwood Springs, and work towards improving the green space as a resource for local residents and the City.
The Friends of Porter Valley hold regular work days to maintain and conserve the waterways, historic features and green areas of the Valley. They also hold fundraising events to support large-scale maintenance projects, monitor proposals that would impact the Valley, hold regular talks, and have strong links with SCC and the Rangers.
The group’s aim is to introduce new members to the RSPB and raise money to help our local nature reserves. We have our main indoor meetings on the first Thursday in each month except June, July and August. We have frequent easy going mid-week and weekend walks in and around Sheffield and run coach trips to reserves farther afield.
The Friends of Richmond Park organise many events for the community to promote health and inclusion, including bulb planting and creation of a community vegetable garden.
The Rivelin Valley Conservation Group aims to encourage the effective management of wildlife habitats and to maintain the Valley’s nature trail. With support from the Ponds Conservation Trust and Yorkshire Water, the group is restoring as many of the historic ponds as possible for the wildlife to inhabit and the public to enjoy. The Group holds work days, walks, talks and other events throughout the year.
RSC was established by a group of public and third sector partners to develop a response to the problem of litter and dereliction on the waterways in Sheffield. We now deliver work across the North including river maintenance contracts, volunteer days and advice for other organisations to improve waterways for communities and wildlife. We are a social enterprise which delivers professional waterway management contracts for riparian landowners, hard and soft landscaping capital projects and community projects involving local communities and volunteers – delivering a holistic , ‘stewardship’ approach to managing waterway issues.
A forum for birdwatchers in and around Sheffield with an active interest in ornithology. We aim to promote an interest in birds in the community, provide something of interest to all levels of birder, co-ordinate fieldwork and recording in the area, and work with and complement the work of like-minded local and national organisations for the benefit of birds.
Sheffield Conservation Volunteers exists solely to enable all members of the community to get involved in conserving the local environment by way of positive action. The main aim of the group is to provide opportunities for people to work in a supportive, friendly and relaxed atmosphere, while being involved in a practical conservation project.
The Sheffield Biological Records Centre (SBRC) is held and managed by the Ecology Unit of the Parks and Countryside Service, based at Meersbrook Park. It holds records on which species are found where in the Metropolitan District. SBRC is one of the oldest record centres in the UK and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014. The database consists of physical site records including reports, maps, original historical documents, photographs and, since 1990 a computerised database, which uses Recorder 6 software and comprises over 511,000 species records, including 133,000 records from Barnsley Records Centre.
SBRC’s function is to provide a secure archive for the wildlife and biodiversity records in Sheffield. It delivers a public records service for education, research and conservation and offers a fee-paying bespoke service to commercial customers such as environmental consultancies. Most of the SBRC information is in the public domain and our datasets contribute to the regional big picture on the NBN Atlas.
Sheffield Environment Weeks is run by volunteers; it provides a website calendar for groups to publicise their regular and one-off environmental events throughout the year. It also produces a printed programme for the intensive 4 – 6 week long festival of environmental events held in May each year.
The Trust maintains the Cemetery’s historic landscape and communicates its rich history and wildlife through our free to attend events. Our volunteers look after the Grade II* listed Cemetery park, help visitors with their family history research, lead many of our free events and contribute in the running of the organisation as members of the management group and as trustees.
SGSF provides a forum for Green and Open groups in Sheffield to come together to share ideas, knowledge and costs and have a powerful voice for the good of the communities we serve.
Friends of Sheffield Manor Lodge aim to promote the restoration, preservation, repair and maintenance of Sheffield Manor Lodge as a site of historical importance and architectural value for the benefit of the public. We hold regular talks with an impressive list of speakers, host historically themed events, and are active fundraisers to support the costly restoration of the ruins and the establishment of Tudor style gardens and other works. The site including its historical gardens and wildflower plantings is managed by Green Estate.
The Friends of Shirtcliffe very actively work to restore and maintain this valley, holding regular energetic maintenance sessions to clear the stream and remove litter and bulky rubbish.
The Sorby Natural History Society is a registered charity, formed in 1918 in honour of Henry Clifton Sorby (1826-1908). We are a forum for naturalists of all ages and abilities to meet, enjoy natural history, collect, store and share information, explore the Sorby Study Area and promote conservation of wildlife and geology. We have groups that organise events, such as lectures, field meetings, surveys and workshops, we produce several publications including a monthly newsletter and an annual Sorby Record and currently hold over 750,000 species records.
The South Yorkshire bat group aims to further the study and conservation of bats in the South Yorkshire region. We have developed a database of bat records, trained members, supported projects suggested by members, assisted local planning Authorities and other bodies in matters relating to bats. We provide talks, walks and presentations for the public, and also hold meetings and events for members in training, roost visits, hibernation checks, and participation in the national bat monitoring scheme. We also provide a bat rescue and rehabilitation service run by bat group volunteers.
The aims of Wadsley and Loxley Commoners are to conserve the common, to balance the pressure of visitor numbers with conservation, to promote awareness of the common and to encourage enjoyment of its many features. The Commoners run regular work days actively managing the various habitats on the Heath, walks and talks. They also actively record sightings of birds, fungi, insects and plants.
The Friends of Walkley Cemetery manages the site on behalf of the Parish of St. Mary’s, Walkley (CofE). We work to keep paths clear of vegetation, to make graves accessible, and to research the history of the cemetery and those buried there. We hold regular tours and other events throughout the year, including bird walks.
The Friends of Wardsend Cemetery group aims to promote this historic Victorian Cemetery whilst trying to preserve the abundant flora and fauna which has adopted this site over the last 150 odd years. The group researches the stories of those interred, holds history and nature walks, and assists visitors to find family graves.
The Trust helps in the management of Wharncliffe Heath Local Nature Reserve and the surrounding area. The aims of the Trust are to create, enhance and conserve areas of traditional open landscape in an area centred on Wharncliffe Wood; to manage Wharncliffe Heath Local Nature Reserve for the benefit of wildlife and the neighbouring community; to undertake research and data collection relating to managing such landscapes, and disseminate our findings and to Involve the local community in conservation and management, and undertake training and educational events.
The Friends of Whinfell Quarry Garden raises funds, enthusiasm and awareness to restore and promote the garden. We hold work days, research the history of the garden, plan the restoration and work with SCC.
The friends of Whirlow Brook Park work to promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment at Whirlow Brook Park and the surrounding woodland and waterways. We have about 25 regular volunteers who work in the Park on Saturdays (once a month, usually the first Saturday of the month) and Mondays (once a month, usually the third Monday of the month) .
Friends of Wincobank Hill are a group of ordinary people committed to conserving the natural environment and heritage of Wincobank Hill, the woodland and the surrounding area. We support activities such as history and nature walks, educational activities and community fun days. We want to bring all sections of the community together and keep the links with those who have moved away so that we can protect the hill and create an archive.
Friends of Wortley Hall Gardens is a not-for-profit organisation, putting any surplus funds into the Gardens. We run monthly talks in the Hall, we do volunteer gardening, we organise members visits to other gardens and horticultural shows, and we help to obtain grant funding.
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