We are committed to getting more people taking action for nature across Cornwall and we know that this will take a collaborative effort to achieve. Playing a big part in this collaboration are the community groups across Cornwall who are doing amazing work in their local areas to support nature recovery and to help people connect with and take action for nature. 

We want to make sure we have the right support in place for these groups, helping them build the skills, knowledge and confidence to keep doing this work with their communities. We also want to support the formation of new groups, particularly in areas where people may be experiencing barriers to connecting with nature. 

So, this year we've been reviewing and improving the support we're offering to local and special interest groups. We've spoken to groups across Cornwall to better understand their goals and what they would find most helpful and, based on this feedback, we are introducing a package of support called Association. 

With Association, we're building an improved network that will create more opportunities to connect, share learning and collaborate across groups. We're providing a programme of training to help build skills and experience in various aspects of running a group, including health & safety, safeguarding, fundraising, social media, surveying and running events. We're also creating an online hub to help link groups to sources of information, advice and guidance, to showcase their learning and achievements. We'll bring groups together at workshops and conferences, link them to sources of expertise and promote their events and achievements. 

Lots of groups have already joined us as Associated Groups and it's been brilliant learning more about their work and how we can collaborate.