So, this is it.  The end of the road for Healing Nature.  It’s been fifteen months since we began, in a somewhat tentative fashion, grappling, as we all were, with the restrictions of a national lockdown.  At that point, the months ahead seemed stretched out in front of us, and the twenty Healing Nature sites on which we would work were tantalising and new.  Both full of possibility.  Now, in the final week of the project, we are in that paradoxical situation where the year seems to have flown by and yet those early days feel like a lifetime ago.  A reflection, I feel, of the hard work and relentless effort by all involved to turn those possibilities into realities.

Hopefully, you have enjoyed the journey that the project has been on.  Sometimes though, the extent of the work and the outcomes are not immediately obvious.  Therefore, as we wrap things up, we thought it would be a good idea to reflect on some of the highlights and outline what happens next.

The project objectives were twofold; to undertake habitat work for wildlife conservation and to engage people and communities with their local area and greenspaces. 

With a lot of the habitat work being seasonally constrained, early activity focused on getting to know the sites and removing litter to help alter perceptions.  The effect was immediate.  Regular acknowledgment and appreciation from site users and local councillors were regularly forthcoming.  Before we knew it, staff and volunteers had collected and removed over seven tonnes of litter from just a handful of the worst affected sites.  Thanks go to the Councils for helping with the onward removal and disposal of this rubbish.

Meanwhile, Rachel was busy with her volunteers and events programme.  The complications of running events against a backdrop of COVID restrictions have inevitably impacted many aspects of the project, but as soon as the rules allowed, walks for individual family groups commenced.  These provided a unique opportunity for those who attended to get a fantastic personalised experience with their own wildlife expert and guide. 

Schools, teachers and pupils have been subject to massive disruption and pressures over the last couple of years and this made scheduling activities for them challenging.  Unfortunately, the ‘pingdemic’ at the height of the summer meant that we had almost as many educational engagements cancelled due to test and trace as we managed to successfully deliver.  The effort and perseverance was worthwhile though and one year one child summed things up nicely in their feedback: “I liked being outside with my friends”. 

After the summer holidays, a tactical switch was made to focus more on home-educated children.  It turned out this was a bit of a game changer.  It enabled the project to connect families and children with nature who are not always catered for in projects like ours, and ultimately Healing Nature engaged 531 children from 29 school groups with nature. 

More than 845 people attended public events on sites, and a further 260 attended online talks which we held.  98% of people surveyed on guided walks said they would recommend taking part in the activity to a friend, and 88% of people stated that they would spend more time in nature after participating in the event.  Studies have shown that time in nature can benefit physical and mental wellbeing, and this seemed to be borne out in Healing Nature events.  One attendee reflected: "I've learned so much, even at the age of 55! It’s given me a new lease of life - I was very anxious with Covid. It was overwhelming”.

As we moved through summer and into autumn, the practical work and activity began to ratchet up through the gears.  Grassland management was undertaken across 47.4 hectares and involved contractors, staff, and volunteers cutting meadows and removing vegetation after the flowering season.  This practice ensures next year’s growth isn’t shaded or smothered out and removes material that would eventually rot down and enrich the soil with nutrients and consequently lower plant diversity. 

Scrub encroachment was pushed back on grasslands and fens, and contractors installed 4.5km of fencing and access infrastructure to help ensure 12.4 hectares of grassland can be managed through grazing in the future.  Adding variety to the work plan, the enhancement of meadow and pasture saw 75kg of seed being applied to diversify swards and this will benefit insects and pollinators in years to come.

As the days shortened and the growing season drew to a close, attention turned to planting.  1,385 trees were enthusiastically placed in the ground to establish 1.15 hectares of native broadleaved woodland on one site.  Then following the various storms of 2021/22, they were put back into the ground at least two more times! 

They weren’t the only trees to go into the ground.  In order to create more than 650m of new hedgerow, 4,225 hedgerow shrubs were planted.  One of the unequivocal highlights for those involved was the hedge-laying course.  Individuals received instruction and tuition and then laid more than 130m of hedgerow.  Alongside this, an additional 900m of hedgerow have been actively managed through coppicing, late winter flailing and additional planting to plug gaps.  The objective of all this activity is to produce thicker, healthier hedges that bear more forage for winter wildlife and provide better refuge for wildlife.

As one of the project partners observed, there is a lot of focus on planting trees, but diversifying the ground flora can sometimes be forgotten about.  On reclaimed land, as many of our green spaces in the northeast are, it could be a long and potentially futile wait for some species to recolonise.  In this situation, it is less nature conservation and more nature restoration.  So, to help things along, the project planted 14,000 wildflower bulbs and scattered 16kg of woodland flower seed mix to help diversify these secondary woodlands (woodlands that have been planted – as opposed to Ancient Semi Natural Woodlands which have been continuously woodland since at least 1600AD).

As we moved into the final months of the project, events were also diversified to help us appeal to a broader audience.  Creative wreath-making workshops took place in the run-up to Christmas, and outdoor arts and crafts proved popular too.  Over the last month, a number of experts in their field have delivered specialist sessions for budding naturalists and wildlife enthusiasts, offering detailed instruction during day-long courses on bryophytes, lichens and spring bumblebees, combining classroom theory with practical fieldwork. 

Talking of personal development and acquiring new knowledge, our four intrepid Conservation Trainees perhaps didn’t know what they were letting themselves in for when they started last July.  Gaining their places with us through the Department of Work and Pension’s Kickstart programme, which was established to help get young people to avoid long-term unemployment, they have now nine months later completed their traineeships.  Armed with a slew of training certifications, plus first-hand experience, and new skills and knowledge, we hope it will stand them in good stead for their futures.  They will be very much missed at the Trust, but we wish them the very best in the next stages of their career.

The digital side of or project should also be acknowledged. Alex Permain - the Healing Nature Digital Officer - reached more than 100,000 people through various social platforms and newsletters.  In the early stages of the project, we saw the exciting ‘night-time safari’ mini-project; documenting the wildlife that comes out at night.  During October, the attention turned to producing a video that documented a guided bat walk nearby one of our Gateshead project sites. In November’s video, the tree planting at Beggars wood homed in on the positive benefits that the newly planted saplings will have on the biodiversity value of the area, as well as the community benefits.  

You can view some of our videos here:
Watergate Forest Park Bat Walk
Beggars Wood Tree Planting
Night-time Safari

None of the achievements mentioned would have been possible without the hard work and commitment of the many people who have supported the project.  First and foremost, a massive thank you to the volunteers who have given up their time and lent their skills and energy to so many aspects of the project.  We really appreciate what you bring to the Trust, but we also really enjoy working alongside you.  We hope you find the experience as rewarding as we do.  Thank you. 

As a result of this project, we have also picked up some new faces along the way.  We are thrilled about this, and very much hope that you will continue to be involved with the Trust and your local Healing Nature sites, as well as remaining passionate advocates for protecting nature.

So, now that Healing Nature is finishing, it is logical to ask what happens next. 

Durham Wildlife Trust will continue to be directly involved in the management of all the Gateshead Healing Nature sites and has a new venture launching imminently that we are calling Gateshead Green.  This will be about creating opportunities for local communities to form groups and make a difference in their local area.  We will also continue to work in partnership with Sunderland Council and South Tyneside Council on a number of existing and upcoming projects, including Naturally Native (water vole recovery), Nextdoor Nature – a national initiative to enable people to act for wildlife on their patch, and a new project in the Sunderland area to be announced shortly.  Plus, we will build upon our local authority partnerships with one-off events and management interventions such as continuing the work on Primrose nature reserve. 

To be kept informed and continue to be involved, please make sure you are subscribed to our Durham Wildlife Trust mailing list - you can do that below - or contact us at mail@durhamwt.co.uk for more information.  We can also put you in contact with the relevant local authority if you would like to be kept informed on ways to get involved directly with them in relation to your local site.

Sometimes a good thing needs to end for better things to begin.  As a project, Healing Nature was always going to be a short, sharp, dash for the line, but it certainly has not been a flash in the pan.  In a tumultuous year, it has accomplished a huge amount, and it has laid the foundations for more work to come.  The investment in and development of our people (staff and supporters), our trialing of ideas and new ways of working, and the relationships we have built with partners, suppliers, contractors, communities, all serve to better equip us for the opportunities ahead. 

In conclusion, I would like to acknowledge the rest of the team, who have worked so hard and been so completely committed to getting this project across the line.  You’ve done an amazing job, and should feel proud of all that you have achieved.  We would also like to thank our partners and funders for all their support, advice and encouragement.

Healing Nature was a Green Recovery Challenge Fund project, funded by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and our partners at Gateshead Council, South Tyneside Council, and Sunderland Council.