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Bradgers Hill Wilder Futures Project Update

Matt Sutcliffe

The Bradgers Hill Wilder Future project has started 2023 as it means to go on - lots of exciting community education opportunities delivered to an ever-widening group of audiences.

It has been a while since we last had an update from the National Heritage Lottery funded Wilder Futures Project, based at Bradgers Hill in Luton, and delivered by the Wildlife Trust BCN. 2023 has continued to see variety of engagement opportunities delivered to a growing audience from across the various communities in Luton.

We finished 2022 with some tree planting arranged for young people from Youthscape and an open day of tree planting for all ages and abilities, which was attended by 15 people, despite the wet weather. Both were part of the LBC plan to restore Hay wood, a small ancient woodland found within nearby Stopsley Common, to it’s original size and we hope to continue this effort during next winter’s planting season.

Stopsley Tree Planting

Matt Sutcliffe

Little Bugs bird nest

Sarah Cowling

Our Little Bugs club for under 5’s paused briefly for Christmas and resumed in January, despite the cold weather. It is delivered out of central Wardown Park, which demonstrates how our engagement work is reaching out from the Bradgers Hill area. Our Wild Ed sessions for children educated at home also take place at Wardown, and like the Little Bugs club, they run fortnightly and have proved popular with the Luton Community. Both use nature and wildlife to inspire and educate children.

Bradgers Task

Matt Sutcliffe

Monthly practical tasks continue at Bradgers Hill, and the project has helped clear more scrub for larger grassland areas, to improve access and the most recent task was laying a hedge alongside the main steps that lead up the hill. TCV and LDCV also deliver task days at Bradgers and this concentrated volunteer effort is really helping to improve the site.

The Wildlife Trust is still relatively new to Luton, with regards to community engagement, and it takes time to create suitable partnerships and for word to spread about what we can offer. I am pleased to say we now have 6 primary schools and 2 secondary schools actively engaged and our services to these schools includes practical sessions for older children who find classroom settings difficult, advice on improving school grounds for biodiversity, forest school activities and a teacher training session is planned for May to help teachers gain confidence in taking their lessons outside and into a natural setting.

BradgersEvent1

Matt Sutcliffe

February Half term saw the latest, and largest of our community events so far. Held at the Community Hub in Bushmead, approximately 80 people enjoyed a range of displays and activities based around nature and wildlife. Children had the chance to make an apple birdfeeder, complete some quizzes and make a pledge for how they will help wildlife.

Birdbox making

Matt Sutcliffe

There was the option to build and take away a bird box which 10 families signed up for and there were fantastic displays by the Bedfordshire Swift group and from the Bedfordshire Natural History Society. The day culminated with a walk up to the main meadow area on Bradgers Hill with over 20 people choosing to attend, and it was great to see the joy on their faces when the the view from the top appears and when a pair of red kites put on their usual display overhead.

Bradgers Walk

Matt Sutcliffe

I would like to thank the BNHS for helping towards the success of this event and I look forward to working with them again later this year with monitoring butterflies at Bradgers Hill and helping lead 1 or 2 of the walks that we deliver there throughout the year.

For more information contact matt.sutcliffe@wildlifebcn.org or visit the Bradgers Hill Wilder Futures page.

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