Volunteers help undo the human damage at wild sites
THE impact of a Healing Nature project across 20 North East sites is being measured as the 15-month venture ends.
And one of the tasks tackled by the Durham Wildlife Trust project has been to heal the scars left by littering and fly-tipping.
A tonne of rubbish has been cleared from each of three sites – the River Don corridor in Jarrow, Colliery Wood in Boldon and Elemore Vale in Sunderland, where dumped items included a mobility scooter in a stream.
A total of seven tonnes was gathered from all nature sites across the project area of Gateshead, Sunderland and South Tyneside.
“If areas are littered and dumped then they may be perceived as not being special sites and that reflects on how they are treated,” said project officer Phil Catton
The venture has restored more than 200 acres of habitat, involved 1,650 people in guided walks, education sessions, and community events, created three acres of woodland, restored a kilometre of hedgerow and planted another 4,225 hedgerow shrubs.
A total of 14,000 wild flowers, including bluebells, wild garlic and wood anemone, have been planted along the River Don near the historic St Paul’s Church in Jarrow.
At Beggar’s Wood in Lobley Hill in Gateshead, volunteers helped plant 1,400 trees, while new fencing, access and wild flower planting has improved two sites at Chopwell Fields and Chopwell Meadows in Gateshead.
Phil Catton said: “Healing Nature was only a short project. But it has really shown what can be achieved in a compressed period of time – even with the restrictions and limitations of Covid to deal with.”
The project, was funded by the Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund, along with contributions from Gateshead, South Tyneside, and Sunderland councils.
“We have greatly enjoyed show
ing people why these spaces are valuable and raising awareness of some of the less obvious wildlife living alongside us,” said Phil.
“The interest and appreciation have been very gratifying – whether it’s been simply clearing litter and fly-tipping, or planting new hedgerows and trees. The feedback has been great.
“It has also been rewarding to get so many people involved – both through volunteering and through our trainee programme – in managing their local sites, and to have helped them develop new skills, from hedge-laying and scything to first aid and ecology.
“Durham Wildlife Trust will now remain involved at many of the sites, and continues to work closely with our partners at the
local councils. We are very grateful to them and to Defra for all their help, as well as to all our supporters, and to everyone who helped make Healing Nature such a success.”
Meanwhile, a celebration event is being held to mark the completion of improvement works at a community garden in North Tyneside.
The Meadow Well Connected’s Community Garden, in North Shields was awarded £54,612 from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) Local Growth Fund to create an outdoor learning space, offer training for local residents and revitalise areas including its wildlife pond and greenhouses.
People are invited to join the celebration event at the garden between noon and 3pm on May 31 to see the improvements and take part in activities.
Mandi Cresswell, chief officer at Meadow Well Connected, which runs the community garden, said: “This funding has given the garden a real boost. We can’t wait to see how the garden continues to develop.”
Helen Golightly, chief executive of the North East LEP, said: “This five-acre garden has flourished, with work placements and training giving people the opportunity to develop skills in landscaping and horticulture, plus a range of physical improvements including new pathways and a pond.”