Nature In The Neighbourhood 

What is nature in the neighbourhood?

Our exciting new 'Nature In The Neighbourhood' campaign is being launched to promote the incredible diversity of living creatures and their habitats in our local area, and to encourage people to join together to support and enhance these within their neighbourhood.

Whether you are a local resident with a garden or nearby park, a school teacher looking to improve their school grounds, a group leader wanting to get tips for engaging their groups with wildlife or a local business looking for ways of giving back to the community, we would like to get everyone involved.

Wildlife across the UK is under threat, many British plants and animals are struggling to thrive or even undergoing population decline. One common threat is from habitat loss, this means that any space we can preserve, enhance or create for wildlife can have real conservation value. This is why we are keen to share our knowledge about making all green spaces the best possible for wildlife.

Big Butterfly Count

The Big Butterfly Count is a nationwide citizen science survey aimed at helping us assess the health of our environment. It was launched in 2010 and has rapidly become the world's biggest survey of butterflies. Over 107,000 citizen scientists took part in 2021, submitting 152,039 counts of butterflies and day-flying moths from across the UK.

We count butterflies because not only are they beautiful creatures to be around but they are also extremley important. They are vital parts of the ecosystem as both pollinators and components of the food chain. However, they are under threat. Numbers of butterflies and moths in the UK have decreased significantly since the 1970's. This is a warning that cannot be ignored.

The Big Butterfly Count 2022 reopens on the 1st of July, ready for the main event between 15th of July - 7th of August. All of the counts can be viewed by clicking the button below.

national moth recording scheme

Although many people overlook them, moths are numberous and widespread, with over 2,500 species in Britain living in a wide range of habitats.

Since 1914 there have been 56 moth extinctions. Six of these have since recolonised or been re-found.

The abundance of the UK's larger moths has crashed during the past 40 years with three species becoming extinct since 2000.

The state of Britain's Larger Moths report 2013 found that two-thirds of common and widespread larger species (macro-moths) declined in the last 40 years. The losses in abundance were much greater in the southern half of Britain than the north.

Native Wildlife

We have a bug hotel in our Wild Meadow, to help provide a home for many insects.

We try to ensure that we provide plants on site, that are beneficial for bees and other wildlife.

We have a hedgehog box, to provide a safe home for wild hedgehogs.

We often do activities with the public, such as making bird feeders.

There are informative signs helping our visitors to identify different species of native wildlife, and giving them advice on how they can help.