Thank you to nature plan

Plans to introduce a nature recovery plan across the area are moving forward. As we near the end of 2020 Langdyke chair Richard Astle reports on the progress so far and looks ahead to next year …

 

There are plans to say a big Thank you to nature  across John Clare Countryside in 2021.

It is all part of the scheme to deliver the parish nature recovery plans as  part of the John Clare Countryside project.

Fifteen of the parishes in the project area agreed during 2020 to develop nature recovery plans and to identify projects that would create new natural habitats or support the management of existing ones.

A list of projects had been developed, across all the parishes, ranging from planting lines of trees, managing areas of road verge for nature, to creating ponds and wild-flower meadows. 

We need now to turn these plans into action and demonstrate that we can, as a community, help nature recover.

This has all happened with in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and the various restrictions on how we can work together.

Throughout that period, there has been a very noticeable increase in the number of people enjoying the local countryside (which is welcome, but also brings challenges in terms of parking and other pressures).  Many people, locally and nationally, have been brought closer to nature during this period, recognising the vital role it plays in our lives and its contribution to our wellbeing.

As a community, it would be poignant and right to recognise this.

The partners in the John Clare Countryside project want to bring these two objectives together and kick off the delivery of the parish nature recovery plans (which have long-term relevance) with a series of special habitat creation events in spring and autumn 2021 to say thank you to nature. 

They have identified funds that will help with the purchase of materials such as saplings, hedging plants and guards, nest boxes, wild flower seeds and are aware of potential other sources of funding which can be applied for.

Our proposal is as follows

• As part of their parish nature recovery plans, each parish should identify by the end of January 2021 one or two projects to prioritise in 2021 and that will be most fitting for the thank you nature programme.
• Each of these projects needs to be costed and a delivery plan drawn up, including setting out materials required etc and how 
• The partners will then allocate funds as required and within the limits of what we have available and will work together to source materials
• The partners will also create a detailed delivery programme which consolidates all this work in one place
• We will identify a first week of ‘delivery’ (to include two weekends) in March during which we hope all parishes will start work on one of their projects, a co-ordinated programme across the John Clare Countryside
• We will also develop branding and signage ideas so that each project can be clearly identified within the context of the Thank You Nature programme and the John Clare Countryside project. A list of “Thank You Nature” projects would be maintained on the websites of the various partners to the JCC project.
• This co-ordinated activity will be publicised across the community and more widely to help raise awareness of the work and to increase the number of volunteers involved in delivering it! 
• A second round of planting and habitat creation would then be arranged for the autumn/winter as part of the “Thank You Nature” programme
• A longer-term programme of work parties would also be set up to follow up this initial work and to start to deliver the additional projects that emerge through the individual parish nature recovery plans.
• There would be a specific programme of work parties on the larger sites designed to encourage involvement by communities from the urban areas of Peterborough.

Additional community engagement

In addition, we are also proposing to mark the hoped-for end to the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic in spring/summer 2021 with a community event, as part of the “Thank You Nature” programme.  

This might take the form of an open-day on one of the larger nature reserves in the area, with walks and talks, but would also include an exhibition in a local venue that captures through art, poetry and photography people’s experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on how nature and the countryside helped people through the emergency. 

This exhibition would be facilitated by volunteers with support from the partners and potentially financial support.