Wild City - project to encourage people in Bristol to access nature

Wild City!

Wild City is an exciting new project encouraging communities in the City of Bristol to access nature on their doorstep

Bristol City Council is bidding to Natural England for Access to Nature funding for an exciting new three-year project called Wild City.

Wild City aims to encourage more people to enjoy the outdoors, including those who face social exclusion or have little or no contact with the natural environment - perhaps because they lack the confidence to get out and enjoy natural places or have few opportunities to do so. It will develop projects that offer innovative and exciting opportunities for people to experience and enjoy the natural environment, gain new skills, get active and have fun. The project will work with a wide range of communities and groups to help local people look after and celebrate the wildlife on their doorstep.

Wild City aims to build on the huge success of the Nature in the City project which was co-ordinated by Bristol City Council. Nature in the City encouraged local community groups and volunteers to play a leading role in looking after their Local Nature Reserves and green spaces, as well as running a wide range of events for everyone to enjoy and appreciate wildlife.

Nature in the City revealed tremendous enthusiasm and interest among local people to experience and care for their natural environment. Wild City hopes to draw upon this enthusiasm and build upon the successes of previous activities to ensure that a greater number and range of people can experience the natural environment. It will do this by consulting with local people to identify their needs and developing appropriate projects and initiatives.

Wild City will work with a range of communities, residents and hard to reach groups in and around seven key sites. These are:

The New Cut
Northern Slopes
Hengrove Park Mounds & Hawkfield Meadow
Stoke Park
Callington Road Nature Reserve
Eastwood Farm LNR
Lamplighter’s Marsh

In addition, Wild City will provide support on a ‘lighter touch’ basis to groups at further seven ‘ network’ sites. These are: -

Lawrence Weston Moor LNR
Narroways Millenium Green
Manor Woods Valley LNR
Stockwood Open Space LNR
Trooper’s Hill LNR
Royate Hill LNR
Badock’s Wood LNR

Wild City is keen to listen to your ideas for projects or activities that will meet the needs of local communities and enable a diverse range of people to experience and enjoy the natural environment. Projects could include things such as: -

innovative events and activities
publications and panels
websites, videos and CDs
arts and crafts
improved access to sites
practical conservation tasks
photographic and ecological surveys
‘green gyms’ and healthy living

How you can get involved

Wild City will target groups of people who have traditionally found it hard to access the natural environment, including young people, black and ethnic minority communities, the elderly, people with disabilities and people recovering from mental health problems, together with groups or individuals who are keen to access and experience the natural environment in their area. The consultation to develop the Wild City project will seek to discover the needs of these groups and then identify projects that address them.

If you, your organisation or group is interested in the project and would like to support the application for funding there are two things you can do:

Send a letter or e-mail of support for the Wild City Access to Nature application by Friday 13th November 2009 to:
Bristol City Council
Wild City Project,
c/o Rural Environment Practice,
40 Longfurlong Lane,
Tetbury, Gloucestershire.
GL8 8TJ
email: chrisgiles1@tiscali.co.uk

Suggest possible projects that your organisation or group would like to develop in partnership with Wild City.
Please contact Chris Giles or Richard Aston, who are preparing the funding application on behalf of Bristol City Council. Please use the contact address above or
tel; 07775 704914 / 07813 545795,
email; chrisgiles1@tiscali.co.uk or r.aston@tesco.net
by Friday 13th November 2009.

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Wild City - project to encourage people in Bristol to access nature

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