Felixstowe's Community Nature Reserve is an independent voluntary conservation organization. It's primary aim is to try and stop the decline in local wildlife. It does that by encouraging local people to grow wildlife-friendly plants in their gardens and allotments. Other wildlife-friendly features which the group encourages include hedgehog homes, insect lodges, bird feeders, bat boxes and swift nesting boxes. Having been founded in May 2015, the group's membership of over 1,700 local people has collectively created new wildlife habitat equivalent in area to a full sized football pitch. Across the UK, we have inspired similar projects from a dozen other groups.
We spent the first three months of 2024 encouraging local people to grow more bee-friendly plants in their gardens and allotments. We did that through social media (eg Facebook and Twitter), print media (eg Spotlight on Felixstowe), and informal discussion groups. That work will continue throughout the Spring of 2024 alongside other projects which include our promotion of support for swift populations which return to Felixstowe during May.
Our work with local young people continues at Suffolk New College where our Schools Ambassador, Gill Atacocugu helps her students to understand the importance of sustainability and climate justice. Those lessons include the discussion of sustainability themes, but also include creative writing work. Elsewhere at Suffolk New College, our support for their wildlife garden continues as usual.
Our STEM Ambassador has also been working at several local secondary schools to help 11 – 13 year olds understand the value of school wildlife gardens and their links to science, technology and engineering ideas.
Our Artist in Residence, Charmaine McKissock continues to share a fascinating agenda of creative projects with local people – all with the aim of encouraging Felixstowe residents to support our local ecosystems and habitats.
Throughout the Spring, we will continue to monitor the North Felixstowe Garden Neighbourhood project. Specifically, our members encourage the North Felixstowe team to minimize the number of trees which are to be cut down, to maximize the replacement trees and to make sure that sufficient maintenance of new trees remains in place. Felixstowe’s Citizen Science Group is closely involved in monitoring local people’s opinions on the North Felixstowe development. Our citizen scientists also continue to share their work with colleagues across the European Union.
Supplied by Dr Adrian Cooper