The council, who declared a Climate and Nature Emergency in 2019, introduced a rewilding programme soon afterwards to help improve biodiversity and create habitats across its parks and open spaces. With the help of volunteers, and its contractors Glendale, a total of 30,000 young trees were planted and an area of around 400,000m2 of tall grass created.

The North Somerset Rewilding Champions project – delivered between July 2021 and November 2022 – saw local residents volunteering to measure biodiversity and getting to know more about the wildlife that lives in their patch. By the end of the project, 10 of these people became rewilding champions.

Avon Wildlife Trust used the funding to recruit four local people – a project manager, a project assistant and two placements. This team organised and led:

• 30 public engagement sessions, attended by 372 people, to provide training on techniques to survey plants, grasses, bees and butterflies, and
• 70 survey sessions, attended by 139 volunteers totalling around 300 volunteering hours, to help the council monitor and record biodiversity changes created by rewilding.

The project found a much greater variety and abundance of wildlife within the rewilded areas, including:

• Increased flower diversity within tall grass areas compared to those areas which are regularly mown
• More varied plant species within the rewilded areas,
• An increase in the number of insects recorded, and
• An increase of the number of species of insects, known as ‘species richness’, within the tall grass areas. This was found to be nearly three times higher than within the mown areas.

A short video has been created by Avon Wildlife Trust to celebrate the project.

Irene Correia, People and Wildlife Manager at Avon Wildlife Trust, said: “We want to see 30 per cent of land and waterbodies in the West of England managed for the benefit of nature by 2030 in order to tackle ecological and climate emergencies. Projects to allow our green spaces to grow and thrive naturally – like North Somerset Council’s rewilding initiative – are essential in making a difference for wildlife.

“As well as the positive difference that’s been made for plant life, insects and birds, we’ve been able to see first-hand what a difference this project has made to the local community.  A special ‘thank you’ must go to the volunteers who’ve gone on to become Rewilding Champions – their stellar contribution has played a major part in creating a lasting legacy for nature in the area.”

Councillor Mike Solomon, North Somerset Council's Executive Member for Neighbourhoods and Community services, said: "We have declared a nature emergency and we’re carrying out a range of projects to address this. The rewilding champions project, which was made possible thanks to National Lottery players and our partnership with Avon Wildlife Trust, has helped us to deliver an ambitious rewilding programme to significantly transform how we manage our open spaces.

“Thanks to all the residents who signed up to volunteer, including our rewilding champions. Their hard work and dedication enabled us to monitor the changes as we alter the way we manage some of our land. By creating more habitats for wildlife to flourish and increasing biodiversity, we’re helping to mitigate the effects of climate change and address the nature emergency. This is really important work.”

Stuart McLeod, Director England - London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “It’s fantastic to hear about the huge success of this important project and particularly the work by the rewilding champions. We are lucky to have some fantastic nature on our doorsteps but it’s important that this is protected and preserved for the future. It is thanks to National Lottery players that we can support projects like this –helping to connect people to the natural world around them and also make a positive change for the planet.”

Rewilding Champions will continue working with council officers to help train future volunteers, monitor sites and look for ways to make further improvements across the area. Anyone interested in getting involved should email their name and contact details to rewilding.volunteering@n-somerset.gov.uk

You can find out more about the council’s rewilding project on the council's website at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/rewilding

 North Somerset Rewilding Champions resources available here