Want to make your life a little ‘wilder’? Charity can show you how

A leading local charity is launching a series of free on-line talks aimed at getting people, community groups, schools and businesses across Devon to turn their gardens and green spaces into havens for wildlife.

The talks are the idea of Devon Wildlife Trust’s Wilder Communities team – which exists to help inspire and support people from neighbourhoods, towns and villages in Devon to make where they live greener, wilder and richer in nature. 

The series of six free on-line talks begins in early November and then take place once a month into spring 2023. Together they cover a range of key practical topics which include: going without pesticides, ‘wilding’ school grounds, wildlife gardening, raising funds for community wildlife projects, and boosting local nature in churchyards.

Katie Wilkinson, who is Devon Wildlife Trust’s Project Lead for Wilder Communities, says:

‘’Our aim with these talks is to inspire people to take action for nature on their doorstep and to help people make their local area greener and richer in wildlife.

We hope they will be informative and useful for those that are already taking action and for those that are just starting out. Saving and nurturing our local wildlife can be achieved through a joint effort; together, we can create wilder communities across Devon.’’

The seminar series starts on Wednesday 9 November at 7pm when Nick Mole of Pesticide Action Network will be giving tips and advice on gardening without pesticides and herbicides.

This is followed on Wednesday 7 December at 7pm with ‘Top tips for funding your community project’ given by grants and major giving expert, Amanda Strowger.

Places for each of the on-line talks in the series is free, but people must register for them via the ‘What’s on’ pages of the Devon Wildlife Trust website www.devonwildlifetrust.org. There people can also find full details about the topics, dates and times of all the talks in the series, plus dozens of others nature-focussed events run by the charity.

Katie Wilkinson of Wilder Communities, says:

“We hope people will join us at these events – whether it’s for one or two talks or all six. We’ve deliberately based them around the ‘hot topics’ that have come up time and again from the communities we’ve been in touch with. Providing free on-line talks allows us to reach a wide and diverse audience which is vital if we’re to help communities achieve their vision for wilder, nature rich spaces where they live, work and learn.

Want to make your life a little ‘wilder’?  Photo credit Penny Dixie

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For more on the work of Wilder Communities visit www.devonwildlifetrust.org/wilder-communities

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Devon Wildlife Trust is the county’s leading environmental charity, with more than 37,000 members. The charity manages 60 nature reserves across Devon, including a range of beautiful landscapes such as woodlands, meadows, wetlands and heaths. Devon Wildlife Trust relies on charitable donations, grants and the generous support of its members and the general public to raise more than £5million every year. Money raised is spent maintaining our work for wildlife conservation and education in Devon, for present and future generations. More at www.devonwildlifetrust.org