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Nextdoor Nature arrives in Cornwall!

Nextdoor Nature – a new natural legacy to mark the Queen’s Jubilee – will help nature flourish in some of Cornwall’s most under resourced areas.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund today announced a £5million investment in a ground-breaking initiative to create a huge matrix of community-led rewilding projects – improving the lives of people from some of the most under resourced areas across the UK and leaving a lasting natural legacy in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The funding is part of The National Lottery’s £22million investment to mark the Jubilee and Cornwall will benefit with its own project.

Delivered by Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Nextdoor Nature will support local people in Camborne and Redruth to develop the skills, tools, and opportunities to take action for nature. This could include establishing wild habitats and green corridors, rewilding school grounds, or naturalising highly urbanised or unused areas. The pandemic has demonstrated just how important access to a well-cared for natural environment is to communities across the UK.

Cel Spellman on Nextdoor Nature

Examples of communities that Cornwall Wildlife Trust will work alongside include:

  • Those who live in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, with a focus on the Redruth and Camborne areas
  • People who are unemployed, senior citizens and those from mixed needs groups
  • Schoolchildren, with a focus on 5- to 11-year-olds

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and research shows 85% of people in nature-deprived areas say more natural spaces would improve their quality of life. The majority also say that having access to local natural spaces is more important post-pandemic. Nextdoor Nature will enable people to make this happen and in doing so, take steps to tackle the nature and climate crisis whilst also addressing important health and wellbeing needs.

credit: Rose Summers

Carolyn Cadman, Chief Executive of Cornwall Wildlife Trust, says: “The beauty of Cornwall masks the fact that we have some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. We know that we want people to take action to improve their local area, but often it’s hard to know where to start.

“We’re looking forward to working in collaboration with local communities, particularly those in Redruth and Camborne, to set their own agenda about the environmental issues they want to tackle. Our role will be to bring the right people together and provide them with the support, skills and confidence to take the next step.”

Dr Simon Thurley

© Broni Lloyd-Edwards

Simon Thurley, Chair of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, says: “As part of The National Lottery family’s £22m investment to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, we are delighted to launch Nextdoor Nature, a transformational initiative which will give access to the natural environment to thousands of people who may not have fully enjoyed or appreciated it before. We hope that many people will, for the first time, get hands on with nature creating a new generation of champions for our precious natural environment.”

Liz Bonnin, President of The Wildlife Trusts, says: “We humans are key to solving the climate crisis and restoring our natural heritage. The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, but Nextdoor Nature is working to set that right, putting local communities at the heart of helping our wild places to recover, and making sure that no matter where we live, we can be part of this crucial endeavour.

“The Wildlife Trusts are firmly rooted in communities and can provide support and advice to those willing to lead the charge in bringing wildlife back to homes and workplaces – in turn inspiring those around them to do the same. We can achieve incredible things when we work together!”

Thanks to the funding from the Heritage Fund, Cornwall Wildlife Trust will support hundreds of people over the next two years to rewild their local areas, many of which are deprived of natural places to enjoy. The Trust will also employ a new community engagement manager to support groups to actively engage with and take action for nature on a local scale.

Image of two youths admiring a Great green bush cricket

Matt Slater

Cornwall Wildlife Trust has extensive experience in rewilding communities. In January 2022, the Trust launched a new project (thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund) to improve local people's access to, and engagement with, the local marine environment in Mounts Bay. Other community engagement projects include the G7 Legacy Project for Nature Recovery and Kernow Glassa - which aims to improve access to the Trust's 59 nature reserves by working with schools, as well as those with mobility impairments and social prescribing needs. 

Evidence shows that people are increasingly disconnected from nature, with profound consequences for health and it also means they are less likely to protect their natural heritage.

In the words of Sir David Attenborough, President Emeritus of The Wildlife Trusts, “No-one will protect what they don’t care about; and no-one will care about what they have never experienced.”

To find out more about The Wildlife Trusts' Nextdoor Nature project, click below. 

Learn more about Nextdoor Nature

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