Warmley Nature Action Zone

Imagine stepping out of your home into a neighbourhood full of nature . . . bees buzz around blossoming trees, butterflies flutter from garden-to-garden, and bats twist and turn, gobbling up insects against a summer sunset. In winter, birds feed from berry-laden bushes and wildflowers left to set seed, frosty cobwebs drape between hedges, where hibernating hedgehogs make their homes, and robins treat us to some well needed bird song during the coldest months of the year.

Welcome to the Warmley Nature Action Zone - an area where streets and neighbours come together to make their own Community Nature Reserve made up of gardens, allotments, window boxes and balconies, and where council-owned public open spaces will be improved for wildlife too! Whether that's planting for pollinators across front gardens, creating an orchard along a whole street, building a hedgehog highway, or helping our neighbours to delight in the creatures we share our neighbourhoods with. We're here to help create a village where both people and wildlife can flourish.

Our gardens and community green spaces are a lifeline for wildlife, little havens scattered through urban networks and intensively managed farmland. Together, the UK's gardens are larger than all of our National Nature Reserves combined, making them as important for wildlife as they are for our own wellbeing. 

Register Your Garden

We're running a series of free wildlife events and courses for local residents, click the buttons below to find out more and book your free spot

'Living With Wildlife' Talks & Nature Celebration Event | Thursday 18th July | 6.30 - 8.30pm

We'll also be at

Warmley Flower Show | Warmley Community Centre | Saturday 3rd August from 2pm

Kingsway Park 'Community Cuppa' | Kingsway Park | Friday 9th August | 10.30am - 12.30pm

More details to follow soon... 

Each hand on the map below represents an organisation or household who have signed up for the Warmley Community Nature Reserve and are doing something positive for nature - whether that's in a private front or back garden, a window box, an allotment, or a public community garden.

1. Register your garden or your own green space to be part of the Community Nature Reserve and tell us a bit about what you currently do for wildlife, don't worry if you're just starting out, or if you think your garden is not good enough or too small, we're here to help!  Register here
    

2. Get in touch with Alex if you'd like to find out more about the Warmley Community Nature Reserve or get some support to make your garden or green space wildlife-friendly. We can provide bespoke advice whether that's for a garden, a whole street, or in your community space such as a school, church, allotment, grass verge, or housing green.
   Email alex.dommett@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk or call, text or WhatsApp 07421 226112.
    

3.  Sign up for the Warmley Community Nature Reserve Newsletter to find out more about the free events, stories from local people, free tree and wildflower giveaways, wildlife sightings and more!  Newsletter Sign Up
    

4. On Facebook? Join the Warmley Community Nature Reserve Facebook group
    

5.  Log what wildlife you see!  Share your wildlife sightings with us in the Facebook Group, via at email alex.dommett@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk or call, text or WhatsApp 07421 226112. You can also upload your sightings on a smart phone or computer on the iNaturalist App or BRERC

The Warmley Nature Action Zone focuses on residential areas either side of Siston Brook in an aim to expland this habitat out into local gardens, creating a corridor for wildlife. In this partnership project, Avon Wildlife Trust are supporting local people to improve streets and gardens for wildlife, while the Common Connections project and South Gloucestershire Council will be working on improving council-owned community green spaces around the brook and on local housing greens. The Warmley Nature Action Zone is an opportunity for all of us to work together to make the whole area welcoming for wildlife and full of natural beauty for people to enjoy. The map below shows the focus area but we encourage everyone to take part whether you're within the boundary or not.

Of course - wildlife has no boundaries after all! We have identified key blocks of streets to improve based on how close they are to public open spaces and where there are gaps in wildlife corridors. Residents outside of these areas are also encouraged to take part!

A community nature reserve doesn’t have to be a large patch of green space away from home! A community nature reserve is when people join forces to make habitats for wildlife in their own spaces, whether that’s your own garden, a grass verge or even a window box. It’s when people come together to garden with wildlife in mind – a community nature reserve could be across a whole village, a street, a block of streets or even a few gardens! 

There are many community nature reserves, check out our community nature reserve resources – full of inspiration from Bedminster, Emerson’s Green and further away in Felixstowe.

Creating a community nature reserve helps us all realise the potential of our own gardens by; 

• Creating spaces that provide essential food, water and shelter for wildlife to live, grow and reproduce. 

• Building wildlife corridors between spaces, so creatures like frogs, newts and hedgehogs can find safe routes across the landscape. 

• Community nature reserves are not just great for wildlife, they’re great for people too. Spending time in nature-rich areas is scientifically proven to improve our mental and physical health and we might meet a few new friends along the way!