Disadvantaged communities across the UK empowered to let nature flourish thanks to £5m National Lottery funding

Disadvantaged communities across the UK empowered to let nature flourish thanks to £5m National Lottery funding - The Wildlife Trusts

Nextdoor Nature – a new natural legacy to mark the Queen’s Jubilee

The National Lottery Heritage Fund today announced a £5million investment in a ground-breaking initiative to create a huge matrix of community-led rewilding projects – improving the lives of people from some of the most disadvantaged areas across the UK and leaving a lasting natural legacy in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The funding is part of The National Lottery’s £22million investment to mark the Jubilee.

Building a bird box © Broni Lloyd-Edwards

Delivered by The Wildlife Trusts, Nextdoor Nature will give people the skills, tools, and opportunity to take action for nature. This could include establishing wild habitats and green corridors in areas of economic and nature deprivation, rewilding school grounds, or naturalising highly urbanised or unused areas. The pandemic has demonstrated just how important access to a well-cared for natural environment is to communities across the UK.

Examples of communities that The Wildlife Trusts will work alongside include:

Young people from minority ethnic communities, young people with disabilities and those who live in socio-economically disadvantaged areas of London
Aspiring leaders in Scotland, who will have the opportunity to develop the skills needed to inspire and support their local communities to take action for nature
Communities in Derby where language barriers (71 languages are spoken) and residential segregation have created some of the most socially isolated areas in the Midlands

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and research shows 85% of people in nature-deprived areas say more natural spaces would improve their quality of life. The majority also say that having access to local natural spaces is more important post-pandemic. Nextdoor Nature will enable people to make this happen and in doing so, take steps to tackle the nature and climate crisis whilst also addressing important health and wellbeing needs.