Let’s go wild about our city
WITH my proud Manchester roots I feel at home here, surrounded by diversity and a phenomenal community spirit.
The skyline is dominated by the Beetham Tower, then the cobbled streets of Castlefield ooze with raw Northern culture and the vibrant life around Albert Square and the Northern Quarter see communities from across the globe joining together.
In amongst all of this is a whole other world quietly going about its day, unnoticed by the buzz of commuters, the hordes of theatre visitors and the dinner and dancing crowds. Wildlife is all around us...
The bees that buzz around the city and are a critical part of providing much of the food we eat, the birds that soar along the skyscrapers, the gentle snuffle of hedgehogs and cheeky house sparrow, to name but a few.
Wildlife and nature is so much more than just something nice to look at, we need the natural world to survive and it needs our help. The Wildlife Trust is launching a campaign, My Wild City, to bring all this wildlife and more to the forefront of people’s minds, making Manchester a greener and wilder place to enjoy.
My Wild City is an initiative which is already running successfully in Bristol, Cardiff, London and Leeds. Now we want to add Manchester to the list of Wild Cities.
Did you know that 60 per cent of all Manchester’s green spaces are in gardens? It means the power is in all of our hands to get stuck in and make a difference.
There are many simple ways you can make your garden a greener place, but My Wild City doesn’t stop at gardens - we are working with Manchester schools under our Forest School initiative and the results have been wonderful.
Access to nature isn’t just nice to have, we want to make sure it’s easy too. The health benefits of spending even a short time in nature each week have proven life-changing and our aim is to work towards every child in Manchester having the opportunity to go wild.
Can you imagine a school day which involves building dens, hunting for mini-beasts and exploring woodlands? Where do I sign up?
If you’re a business, My Wild Office offers opportunities for you to get involved either through sponsorship or through practical volunteering and greener work spaces to help improve the health and wellbeing of your staff.
You can even help support our work on Manchester’s mosslands, the rainforests of the north west. You don’t have to do a huge amount, but if everyone does one thing for wildlife, we really can make a difference.
The Trust will also have an interactive map so you can see who else is getting involved, show off what you’re doing or simply prove yours is the greenest street in Manchester.
Everything you need to get you started is on our website. If everyone does one thing for wildlife, together we can make a difference. Visit www. lancswt.org.uk/ Mywildcity to get started. Let’s get buzzing!
The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside is dedicated to the protection and promotion of the wildlife in Lancashire, seven boroughs of Greater Manchester and four of Merseyside, all lying north of the River Mersey. It manages around 40 nature reserves and 20 Local Nature Reserves covering acres of woodland, wetland, upland and meadow. The Trust has 29,000 members, and over 1,200 volunteers.
»●To become a member of the Trust go to the website at www. lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129. For more information about Cheshire Wildlife Trust call 01948 820728 or go to cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk.