A network of natural wildlife havens

We have been so pleased to see so many of you kindly donating for our “My Wild Garden” Awards, says Lucy Coxhead .

Your garden, balcony or yard, no matter how big or small, can support local wildlife and together we can make a huge difference.

Every garden is a little nature reserve, and your actions at home are helping to link urban and green spaces together with habitats across our three counties - collectively fighting for our struggling wildlife.

Our Wild Garden Awards are a slice of one of our nature reserves. For a small donation, you can display one in your garden. Every single one is unique and harvested locally from trees that have been sensitively managed for wildlife on our reserves.

Each slice is then lovingly stamped by one of our volunteers, Eddie, who has been busily sanding and branding these in his garage workshop.

Wondering how you can get your own slice to celebrate your wild garden? Visit www.lancswt.org.uk/ my-wild-garden for more information.

Creating a Wild Garden Award-worthy space doesn’t even have to involve lots of time and money; the good news for the lazy gardeners among us is that letting nature take its own course can often be the best way. One of our wild gardeners, Clare, said: “I love the idea of having something to display that shows my garden is a nature reserve and is meant to look how it does. It is not neglected; it is wild and thriving.”

A wild garden can also work wonders for our own wellbeing. One of our supporters, David, said: “During Covid I spent more and more time in the garden. The pleasure I gained from seeing all the different wildlife was immeasurable and encouraged me to do more to attract wildlife to my garden.” We love hearing and seeing what you, our wonderful supporters, are doing at home, and thank you for making your garden a safe space for wildlife.

A day with the grebes

We invited some of our newest members to the Trust to join us for a welcome day at Brockholes.

After some cakes and crafts, our members were treated to a guided walk around Brockholes, discovering a mosaic of habitats and marvelling at its transformation from a former quarry. The lake was a delight as we watched great crested grebes diving in the sun, heard the "pee-wit" of soaring lapwings and were dazzled by damselflies.

We walked along the reed beds and listened to the delights of willow warblers – a sure sign that summer has arrived.

Jim, Alan and David, some of our most dedicated volunteers, shared their expert knowledge and gave a perfect introduction to this special reserve for our newest supporters. We hope we inspired new members to grab their reserve guides and explore more of the wildlife havens we protect and look after. Thanks to all your support.

We love being able to hold these events and meet you all in person, so keep your eyes peeled for future invites winging their way to you from time to time.

Working together for wildlife

The Lancashire Wildlife's partnership with sustainable home creators, Northstone, reached out to the local community of Wigan this May to create a wonderful and wild garden to be explored.

In partnership with Northstone, we designed, built and planted a new garden space at the incredible charity CAST situated within Applecast Farm, in Wigan. The garden will sit in the grounds of the incredible Eco Centre as an exemplar wildlife haven.

The space created will benefit the local community and provide a therapeutic environment, whilst also providing bees, butterflies and other pollinators with food throughout the year. With native UK plants carefully chosen, a rockery, a bug hotel and a couple of fruit trees we cannot wait to see the garden come to life this summer.

The combined efforts of Lancashire Wildlife Trust, CAST and Northstone made this concept a reality and all teams worked together on the planting day. Everyone had the unique pleasure of creating and planting a new habitat as an addition to the natural landscape of the site. Along with visitors to the farm, the garden is for disadvantaged or disaffected young people and local families to enjoy and provides a therapeutic environment for people of all disabilities and additional needs.

Berni Barry, Head of Planning and Sustainability said:

“Our team loved every minute spent building Applecast’s stunning new garden alongside their team and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust. The sun shone all day and it was so rewarding to see the space take shape. Increasing biodiversity is a major part of the work on our sites, and it’s such a pleasure to carry that through to other community spaces. The end result is a beautiful, biodiverse wildflower garden that will draw in pollinators and wildlife, but is also the perfect space for people to spend time and unwind.

“The mission was to bring people and nature closer together, increasing understanding of how everyone can help enhance habitats with the right plants and small design choices.

Corporate Members

GOLD

– Beechfields

– Close Brothers

– Eric Wright Group

– Gresham Office Furniture

– Little Green Feet – JBI Ltd

– Mace

– Northstone

– Siemens

– Standby Productions

The Veterinary Green Discussion Forum returns to Brockholes

We were delighted to welcome The Veterinary Green Discussion Forum hosted by The Webinar Vet back to our Brockholes Nature Reserve.

The two-day event was packed full of inspiring talks and discussions around all things sustainability. It was a brilliant opportunity to collaborate, network and inspire each other to make changes in our own businesses, and in the veterinary profession.

Our own Merseyside Reserves Officer Mike Cunningham and Red Squirrel Project Officer Molly Frost were also invited to share their insights on the efforts of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust projects in this area of discussion.

Not only did the attendees fill the visitor village with keen discussions, but they also joined Partnership Officer Megan Kelsall and Fundraising Officer Lucy Coxhead on a guided walk of the Brockholes Reserve and an enthusiastic group joined our Reserve Officer Lorna Bennett in some conservation maintenance on site.

MEG’s beautiful ambition for eco - homes

We are thrilled that Making Energy Greener are joining our own green network of corporate members.

MEG are addressing fuel poverty and reducing carbon by delivering deep retrofit and energy-efficient measures to properties across the UK. Committed to a carbon-neutral future with a passion for tackling fuel poverty, MEG believes that making every home an ‘eco-home’ is a beautiful ambition and we couldn't agree more.

Stowe Family Law have made a commitment this year to support

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust as a Bronze member and we are looking forward to working closer with the team in their efforts for sustainability.

We are also joined by our friends in Bacup ‘Little Green Feet’ a new line created by two ambitious team members from footwear importer JBI Ltd. Deborah and Claire have created a back-to-school collection made from recycled materials, with cute characters, Ellie the Bee and Sam the Spider, the start of the fantastic new brand Little Green Feet.

Little Green Feet have a passion for educating future generations on how to ensure the world is a better place and our range is a great way for children to get involved and have fun safeguarding our planet. Each pair of shoes comes with a packet of wildflower seeds which can be grown at home for children to see the benefits for our wildlife and a donation will go straight to Lancashire Wildlife Trust to help restore habitats and protect wildlife.

– Volker Stevin

– VP plc

SILVER

– Decordia Ltd

– Fort Vale Engineering Ltd

– Making Energy Greener

– MJ Wilkinson Plant Hire

– Nurturing Hope

Bronze

– Stowe Family Law

– Weinerberger

Local Business Members

– Hoofs & Paws

– Worthington Sharpe Ltd

Also special thanks to other businesses that have generated income, taken part in Welly Workouts or given in kind materials and help to projects this last quarter: Siemens, Wildlife Travel, Morgan Sindell Construction, EricWright Constuction, VercoGlobal, Laing.

At Lancashire Wildlife Trust we believe that business charity partnerships should be mutually beneficial and based on shared values. Our partnerships are bespoke not “one size fits all” packages. It’s important to us that we get things right at the start to make sustainable long-term relationships.

We believe that your company can benefit greatly from a partnership with Lancashire Wildlife Trust as we help your business and your staff to connect more with nature and thrive from the health and well being that happens from connecting with their outdoor environment.

If your company is interested in being a corporate member go to www.lancswt.org.uk/ how-you-can-help/business