Where it all began... 

Alright, let’s get started on my first ever blog – I’m Nicki and I moved to mid-Cheshire about a decade ago. The house we bought had been somewhat neglected and the garden needed a complete makeover. I started wondering how I could make the garden more friendly for wildlife, and knowing that bees were struggling, initially looked into improving it for them.  

I removed plants in the garden that didn’t attract any pollinators and replaced them with ones that did. If you ever go to a garden centre or a formal garden, it’s easy to spot which plants are popular with our buzzy friends! Being a nurse during Covid, the garden was a sanctuary for me and the catalyst to my career change where I made a big decision to go back to university to study a subject close to my heart – animals. I have just graduated this summer with a degree in Zoology. 

The potential of gardens 

In my first year, we covered basic Ecology and it got me thinking how I could improve my garden for other species too. As the course progressed, I began to understand that my garden alone wouldn’t make much difference… but if I could get more people and their gardens involved, the bigger impact it would make.  

Having never set up a group from scratch before, I wasn’t sure where to begin. So I turned to social media and put a message on our local village Facebook page. Turns out there were indeed people who felt similarly to me, and we arranged to meet up at our local pub for an introduction and a chat.  

A new community group was born 

From there, we decided to meet once a month for the social aspect (always an important part of any group). We started a dedicated social media page called Wildlife Gardening Cuddington and Sandiway for sharing tips and garden projects for helping wildlife at home as well as our favourite wildlife photos from our gardens. We’ve had some lovely pictures from members and as some of us have trail cams we also get to see overnight visitors too.

Our group has captured some wonderful footage of hedgehogs, foxes, amazing caterpillars, moths and butterflies, and birds. My personal favourite moment has been discovering that we not only had smooth newts and common darters in my new pond, but they had also started the next generation in there! I’ve been spending far too much time over the summer watching the efts as they have developed!  

Every effort counts

Something we try to emphasise in our group is that it doesn’t matter what size contribution your garden makes, whether it’s a small wildflower border in a corner or whether it’s half your entire garden – it all helps. The Wildlife Trust infographics in particular have been a great resource to inspire bite-sized garden projects for the page.

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Wild ambitions 

This spring, we thought even more ambitiously and organised working groups to help remove Himalayan balsam locally with great results. While doing so, we were able to inform curious passersby about what we were doing and why it was important, helping to raise awareness. Because the balsam is still widespread and everyone enjoyed making a difference to our local area, we’ll be doing this again next year.

At present, we’re considering other practical projects we might be able to undertake around the village to help local wildlife in conjunction with the Parish Council and CWAC. It would be fantastic if this blog inspired other villages to do the same! 

It’s a simple matter of finding them and social media can be exceptionally useful in this respect. Passion, perseverance and networking is also helpful. Our group is small, but we’re exploring ways that we can grow. We can be found having a drink and a laugh in the Blue Cap, Sandiway on the last Tuesday of every month, or on the Facebook page.

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Discover how other community groups are making a difference for wildlife. Join us for our next webinar:

Community and Conservation:
The power of collective action in Cheshire.

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