Share

A woman reaches over a table set up outside to assist a child with making a creature out of clay. The family watches as the child makes art. Trees and gardening signs make up the background.

Christine Harding

Nextdoor Nature

What is Nextdoor Nature?

Between September 2022 and September 2024 Nextdoor Nature bought communities across Stafford together to help nature flourish where they live and work.

Thanks to £5million funding (shared nationally around various Wildlife Trusts) from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Nextdoor Nature provided thousands of people with the advice and support they need to help nature on their doorstep, and leave a lasting natural legacy in honour of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Every one of us can make a difference to bring back nature and tackle climate change, by taking small actions that add up to big changes, but some of us just need a little bit of help to get started. Nextdoor Nature did just that. By encouraging communities, including minority communities and people with disabilities, to get involved with transformational micro-project, we were able to inspire communities to help nature thrive and make the places where they live, work and visit greener.

Being outdoors and transforming an area like this has helped my mental health by giving me a purpose and a sense of community that I had been missing.
Community Friend
A Nextdoor Nature supported community group

Nextdoor Nature in Stafford

Nextdoor Nature has really bought people together and given them the support, skills and confidence to take the next steps. There are so many groups doing incredible things around Stafford. The whole ethos of the project was to begin a movement across the town, with local people choosing what to do and where.

We’ve simply helped lay the foundations for communities to take things forward and build on the amazing things achieved over the past two years. Although the formal project has ended, it will live on through the people who have embraced it. We’re so proud of all they’ve achieved so far.

Below are a few highlights of some of the groups we’ve worked with during the project, and what action they’ve taken for nature in their area.

Nextdoor Nature in Stafford (https://youtu.be/Mhmskt8IQ8I?si=ntuGpwfo-WBTB9wp)

Here a small community group in Stafford, share how together, they are making a difference for wildlife and people, where they live.

National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Queen's Platinum Jubilee and The Wildlife Trusts logos sit side by side

false - Jon Hawkins – Surrey Hills Photography

Sandon Road pollinator patch

This project involved Ron Rock, a local wildlife champion, along with residents and other Stafford groups, working together as part of Stafford’s bid to become a bee-friendly town.

They established three islands of wildflowers to help local pollinators and boost insect numbers for the benefit of all wildlife. They also created pollinator friendly planters.

Stafford Borough Council's Streetscene have also supported the group’s aims for the area. The group plans to maintain and improve the area, and create homes for other wildlife with local community support.

A man bends down and plants something in the ground in a green open area with trees in the background

One of the residents planting bulbs as part of the Doxey Meadows Community Nature Reserve constituted group - By Susan Kneill-Boxley

Doxey Meadows Community Nature Reserve

This group enhanced a neglected area of grassland near Doxey Primary School for the benefit of local people and wildlife.

The group includes local residents and representatives from Doxey Parish Council, Doxey Primary School and Doxey Church, with support from local businesses, Stafford Castle Rotary Club and Stafford Borough Council.

They organised a community litter pick supported by local company Colas Ltd and Chevron Green, clearing the site of fly-tipped rubbish and litter.  Colas then scraped and cleared ground, and helped reclaim a lost footpath. Together they prepared for seeding and planting before children from the local school sowed wildflower seeds, and the group’s volunteers planted trees and bulbs.

Future plans include installing seating, funded by Stafford Castle Rotary Club, and improving habitats for wildlife and the local community.

A group of 5 people standing with rakes and large amounts of hay piled up as high as their waists. They stand in a green field with trees in the distance and houses nearby.

Sandyford Street Green Hay Strewing Sue Kneill-Boxley

Sandyford Community Group

This informal group of residents live local to Sandyford Street play area and they joined forces to improve wildlife habitats with group founder Emily Bailey. Successes since 2021 include a less intensive mowing regime agreed with Stafford Borough Council, allowing a third of the site to be converted to grassland meadow. They planted heritage fruit trees, created a pollinator bed, and built log piles. Non-native bushes were replaced with native scrub and woodland ground cover plants.

Future aims include an extension to the community pollinator bed and a small wildlife pond and the Nextdoor Nature team arranged a talk by Froglife to support this development.  The group would also love to install some earthworks play structures to supplement the existing play-ground.

In addition to support from Nextdoor Nature, the group received hedgerow whips from The Woodland Trust, while larger and fruiting trees were funded via the Climate Action Fund and a private sponsor. Local businesses Travis Perkins, Wickes, and Priory Garden Centre have been extremely supportive with tree stakes and cages.

Throughout the group’s journey Nextdoor Nature has arranged meetings and provided support and advice.

Lloyd Street Community Garden

Winning Prima Magazine’s national public vote for ‘featured pocket garden’ enabled us to document the transformation of this once unloved piece of land on the corner of Sandon Road with Lloyd Street.

The Stafford charity, House of Bread, adopted the plot and their friends, staff, and volunteers have worked exceptionally hard with local residents, including those from Marston Road’s Turning Point sheltered hostel, to transform this neglected patch into an oasis for butterflies, bees and birds. Passers-by have donated plants and commented about how the garden brightens their day as they pass on their way into town.

A major highlight of 2024 was the grand opening of this garden by Leader of Stafford Borough Council, Aidan Godfrey, who has shown much support for the project. As part of the celebrations a new ‘Chatty Bench’ was donated by Anchor Care Homes, installed by Stafford Streetscene, and unveiled by special guest Universal Woman Great Britain, Natalie Mageza. Many thanks are due for the support from all involved at this largely upcycled garden with its water trough pond, vibrant array of plant contributions nestled into colourful tyre planters, and winding slate path, made from roof tiles donated by Stafford Constitutional Club and Stafford Roofing.

Two images side by side show the difference made in a community space next to a road and buildings. The one on the left shows an unloved patched of grass, the one on the right shows various planters and colourful flowers

Before & after of Lloyd Street Community Garden in Stafford by CN Harding

An unloved and bare patch of grassy land with weeds and broken fencing next to buildings

A before photo showing the unloved Lloyd Street Community Garden before the group transformed it.

A community garden brimming with planters containing colourful flowers and a big bush with purple flowers, next to buildings

Lloyd Street Community Garden after its transformation by the community group. Photo by CN Harding

A group of people watch and clap as a man cuts a ribbon with some garden shears. They stand on a red carpet in a community garden and are all smiling.

Lloyd Street Community Garden celebration with Prima magazine. Cutting the ribbon are William Morris from House of Bread, with Jo Checkley, Prima Magazine, Aidan Godfrey from Stafford Borough Council and Ant Reid from Stafford Borough Council, and project lead Sue Kneill-Boxley from SWT. Photo by CN Harding.

A man and woman sit on a garden bench and talk in a community garden

William Morris from House of Bread and Natalie Mageza sit on the 'chatty bench' at the Lloyd Street Community Garden opening. By CN Harding

A woman smiles at the viewer, she has chin length cropped dark blonde hair and wears a white long sleeve tshirt with a lilac gilet that has brown and orange stripes.

Jo Checkly, Editor-in Chief at Prima Magazine by C N Harding

Jo Checkly, Editor-in Chief at Prima Magazine

“Prima is all about celebrating community so to see the Lloyd Street community garden in Stafford being transformed into an area for everyone to enjoy has been such a joy and a privilege. Before, it was a messy, overgrown, and forgotten piece of land and now it’s bursting with colourful plants and somewhere for people to sit and spend time. The people of Stafford have told us that seeing it makes them smile so we at Prima like to call it the Garden of Smiles. That’s something for any community to be proud of.”

Feeling inspired?

From the outset the whole ethos of Nextdoor Nature was to inspire communities to transform areas in their street or neighbourhood, and to join together to care for where they live to make it better for nature and people. While it’s sad this project is ending, it’s not the end by any means.

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust simply planted the metaphorical seed; the communities of Stafford have decided what to grow and where. These are their spaces, places which are now a little bit wilder. We’re already seeing other people being inspired to take care of spaces around the town. Feeling inspired? Wherever you live, you can do something good too - just approach whoever owns the land, make a plan and get your neighbours involved!

Unsure where to start? Feel free to reach out to us for advice by emailing wilderenquiries@staffs-wildlife.org.uk

While this project has ended we’re still able to signpost to ongoing groups and resources which will help you get started.

Want to know more about what happened during the project?

Below are updates from throughout the Nextdoor Nature project in Stafford.

Want more good news?

The projects in Stafford are just one part of a massive movement around the UK where people just like you are taking action to improve nature in their local communities, for wildlife and people too. 

The programme originally set out to work with 200 communities but actually reached over 1,600! You can read the full report on The Wildlife Trust's website linked below. 

Read the Full Report