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How to Support Nature in Your Community

Supporting nature isn’t limited to your own home or workplace - it extends to your local community too.

Whether you're part of a neighbourhood group, a local council, or simply an individual who wants to make a difference, there are many ways to help wildlife thrive in shared spaces.

Here’s how you can support nature and biodiversity in your local community.

Create Wildlife-Friendly Green Spaces

Public parks, community gardens, and shared green spaces are important refuges for wildlife. You can enhance these areas with small, community-led projects.

Plant Native Species: Work with your community to plant native trees, wildflowers, and shrubs in local parks or communal areas. Native plants are better suited to local wildlife and support a wide range of insects, birds, and small mammals.
Create Wildflower Meadows: Encourage your local council to reduce mowing in certain areas and let wildflowers grow naturally. Wildflower meadows provide food and shelter for pollinators and other wildlife.
Community Gardens: If your community doesn’t already have one, consider starting a community garden. Not only do these gardens support biodiversity, but they also foster a sense of community and provide fresh, local produce.

Help Pollinators in Shared Spaces

Pollinators like bees and butterflies need help everywhere, including in your community’s parks, roadsides, and gardens.

Plant Pollinator-Friendly Flowers: Get involved in community planting schemes and suggest adding pollinator-friendly flowers such as foxgloves, lavender, and marjoram. These are easy to grow and will attract bees, butterflies, and hoverflies.
Set Up Bee Hotels and Habitats: Encourage your community to install bee hotels and bug hotels in communal gardens or local parks. These provide essential nesting sites for solitary bees and other beneficial insects.
Avoid Harmful Chemicals: Advocate for pesticide-free zones in public areas. Many councils are shifting to natural alternatives to pesticides, which are less harmful to pollinators and the wider ecosystem.

Support Local Wildlife

Communities can play a big role in creating safe habitats for local wildlife, from hedgehogs to birds and amphibians.

Install Bird Boxes and Feeders: Organise a community bird box-building project or work with local authorities to install bird boxes in trees around parks and public spaces. Bird feeders can also be set up in community gardens, providing much-needed food, especially during the winter months.
Hedgehog-Friendly Spaces: Hedgehogs are declining in the UK, but communities can help by creating hedgehog-friendly habitats. Encourage neighbours to link gardens with small gaps in fences, creating "hedgehog highways" that allow hedgehogs to roam and find food safely.
Build Ponds: If your community has a shared green space, consider creating a small wildlife pond. Ponds attract a variety of creatures, including frogs, newts, dragonflies, and birds, and are a wonderful way to support biodiversity.

Get Involved in Community Clean-Ups

Litter and pollution are major threats to wildlife. Organising community clean-ups is a fantastic way to protect nature while building local connections.

Organise Litter Picks: Set up regular litter-picking events in parks, woodland, beaches, or along rivers. Plastic waste can be especially harmful to wildlife, so removing litter helps keep local ecosystems healthy. Work with local authorities to provide litter-picking equipment and disposal options.
Promote Recycling: Work with your community to improve local recycling efforts. Encourage proper sorting of waste and advocate for more recycling bins in public areas. This reduces landfill waste, which can harm wildlife.
Reduce Light Pollution: Excessive artificial lighting can disorientate nocturnal animals like bats and moths. Advocate for reduced lighting in certain areas at night, or promote motion-sensor lighting in community spaces to minimise disturbance to wildlife.

Support Tree Planting and Conservation Projects

Trees are vital to the health of our environment, providing habitats, cleaning the air, and storing carbon.

Tree Planting Events: Work with local councils or wildlife organisations to organise tree planting days. This not only helps to combat climate change but also provides essential habitats for birds, insects, and mammals.
Adopt a Tree: Encourage members of your community to "adopt" trees in public spaces by taking responsibility for watering and maintaining them. This is particularly helpful for newly planted trees that need extra care.
Support Local Nature Reserves: If your community has a local nature reserve or wildlife site, get involved by volunteering or supporting fundraising efforts. These reserves are crucial for protecting native species and habitats.

Promote Sustainable Living in the Community

Sustainable living not only benefits wildlife but also improves quality of life for everyone. Promote greener choices in your local area to reduce the environmental impact of your community.

Community Composting: Set up a communal composting area for residents to recycle their food waste. This can be used in local gardens or shared allotments, enriching the soil and reducing the need for chemical fertilisers.
Encourage Sustainable Transport: Promote cycling, walking, or carpooling within your community. Suggest the installation of more bike racks or create a "car-free day" in your neighbourhood to reduce air pollution and encourage greener transport options.
Organise Repair Cafés: These community-led initiatives encourage people to bring broken items (clothes, electronics, etc.) to be repaired rather than thrown away. Repair cafés reduce waste and keep products out of landfill.

Involve Schools and Local Groups

Engaging schools, youth groups, and community organisations is a great way to inspire long-lasting change and foster a love of nature in future generations.

School Gardening Projects: Encourage schools to start wildlife-friendly gardens where children can learn about nature and sustainability. Planting pollinator-friendly flowers, growing vegetables, or setting up a small pond are all great projects.
Wildlife Education Events: Organise nature walks, talks, or workshops in your community to raise awareness about local wildlife and how people can help. Partner with local conservation groups or environmental experts to provide engaging, educational activities.
Junior Conservation Groups: Support or set up youth groups dedicated to conservation and environmental stewardship. Activities like bird watching, tree planting, and pond dipping are great ways to get young people involved in nature.

Small Steps, Big Impact

Supporting nature in your community is about working together to make shared spaces more sustainable and wildlife-friendly. From planting pollinator gardens to reducing waste and creating habitats for local wildlife, every action you take contributes to the health of the environment.

By coming together as a community, we can create thriving spaces for both people and nature.