Like Wilder Futures, the overarching aim is to inspire and engage people in their local green spaces, to learn about natural heritage and the conservation work currently undertaken in Luton. Wilder Luton has a particular focus to build in training opportunities wherever possible, to create opportunities for a younger audience to partake in our activities and to develop their own skills, attitudes and behaviours in a way that is beneficial to the natural environment and their own development.
Wilder Luton- the first 6 months of success!
It has been 6 months since the start of the National Heritage Lottery Funded project, Wilder Luton, which will run for the next three years. The first 6 months have been busy continuing the existing clubs that were established during our Wilder Futures project, and planning for new activities that help us to reach an audience far and wide within the borough of Luton.
Tree planting
In December, we started planting a wildlife corridor on Stopsley Common that connects Hay Wood and Bradgers Hill in Luton thanks to tremendous support from the Friends of Stopsley Common, our Youth Rangers, Stopsley High School students, our home education group and volunteers from Stopsley Baptist Church. Almost 1000 hawthorn whips have been planted, and this new hedge will enable small mammals to travel safely between these sites and provide a good source of food for birds during winter.
Monthly walk programme
Wellbeing walks not only allow our visitors to explore various mindful ways to connect with nature and simply take a moment to appreciate the natural wonders all around us, but also encourage explorations of green spaces on their doorstep. The Walk in the Park programme has been created to offer opportunities for local residents to go for a walk, to improve their physical and mental health, to learn about natural history of their local green spaces, as well as connect with other like-minded people on a walk. The programme for the Spring/Summer seasons will be focused around exploring nature reserves and little pockets of green spaces within Luton!
School engagement
We have been offering advice to some local schools for improving their grounds for nature and wildlife, and of course this can provide more opportunities for students to learn outside. For example, the Chiltern Academy asked us to provide suitable plants and wildflowers for their new garden area, and for some raised beds, and we planted these out with some of the students and will be returning in spring to deliver further practical improvements with these students.
We have planned an engaging programme offering monthly wildlife gardening activities and crafts for Year 7 students who attend lunchtime Garden Club at Denbigh High School in Luton. The first session delivered was around importance of looking after birds in winter and encouraging more diversity in the gardens by making two different types of bird feeders! We had lots of fun making these!
Heritage skills
We have trialled some training workshops for the public, our Youth Rangers and volunteers from the Penrose Roots to Recovery project that focus on heritage skills. These include green woodworking and hedge laying where we have employed local craftsmen to pass on their practical knowledge of these traditional crafts. Not only is important to keep these heritage crafts alive they also are great ways to enjoy the outdoors and improve well-being, feedback from those attending includes:
‘This is great, I’m the world’s most impractical person, tools terrify me so I’m pleased I’ve done what I thought I couldn’t do!’ Julie
‘It was super, purposeful whittling, really good instruction, I was really in the zone’ Konni
Thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund we aim to roll out more of these workshops later this year and at weekends, so they are more accessible to the general public.
Regular outdoor clubs
Our clubs for pre-school, primary and secondary ages will be re-starting early March with sessions running at Wardown Park and the Bushmead Community Hub. The sessions last Autumn were really popular, especially amongst the home school primary age children.
These sessions have given many opportunities for learning about wildlife in green spaces, shelter building, spotting animal signs in nature, going for scavenger hunts – activities run to encourage children to develop problem-solving skills, discover their abilities as nature detectives and simply enjoy outdoor play and company of others. Our older audience- secondary age- have been building bug hotels, doing fire lighting, and helping with tree planting. And in the following months there will be more sessions with elements from bushcraft and wildlife gardening (helping to extend the wildlife friendly garden at the front of Bushmead Hub).
Gardening for Wildlife
Another aspect of the Wilder Luton project is to help encourage people to look after wildlife in their own gardens and green spaces. Last Autumn we ran weekly sessions for residents from the Mary Seacole Housing Association in of their communal garden spaces. A new herb bed was built and planted out, a new bird table constructed, and existing beds and tables restored. This spring we are returning to help encourage residents to grow their own vegetables in the garden and to find other ways to share quality time outside.
At the Bushmead Community Hub we have plans to extend the area planted out for pollinating insects and are looking for new volunteers in this area of Luton to help us manage the communal garden for wildlife and for people to enjoy.
For more details on this and all our upcoming events in Luton, please visit our Wilder Luton page.