As shown by the recent State of Nature Report, our environment is in a dire state and the scale of change required is great. We need thousands of people to take action. This new Nextdoor Nature project in Somer Valley aims to raise understanding about this urgent need for change and to recognise individuals and communities' own roles in making that change happen. We will be identifying four community groups to work closely with to support them developing their nature-based ideas into reality . Rhea is the Somer Valley Community Organiser, so here’s a bit about what she’s been up to.
"One rainy afternoon I joined BART (Bristol Avon Rivers Trust) for their River Detectives Worskshop in Midsomer Norton to learn more about their new ‘citizen scientist’ project in Somer Valley. Molly, BART’s Somer Valley project lead, says ‘Join our BART Detectives project and help us to monitor the health of our surrounding waterways for the benefit of both people and wildlife. You will be provided with a free monthly water testing kit and given access to upload your results onto our interactive map where you can see all the data collected by other BART Detectives!’. They still need volunteers to sign up along the Cam, Wellow and Midford Brooks, so contact BART via their website to get involved.
The wonderful Pride in Paulton group (PiP), who look after most of the community flower beds in the village, gave me a passionate and inspiring tour of their beds. They showed me photos from the beginning of their planting and told me all about the community projects they have ran over the years. From extravagant corgi-cut-out paintings, to knitting poppies, this group really do know how to make a space look beautiful and have a lot of fun time whilst doing it!