Our Projects
From plant propagation to river restoration, find out about a selection of the projects we're undertaking for nature's recovery across Birmingham and the Black Country.
Wild Walsall
Wild Walsall is an ambitious nature recovery programme across the landscape of Walsall, alongside a linked programme of community engagement. Currently in its year-long development phase, thanks to funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund, the aim of this project is twofold - to make a significant intervention into vital habitats, such as globally rare lowland heathland, across a peri-urban area, and to connect people to this remarkable natural resource on their doorstep.
Natural Rivers and Green Corridors
Now in its second phase, Natural Rivers and Green Corridors will continue our focus on the upper River Rea catchment in South West Birmingham, further restoring the river and its tributaries, and enhancing the green corridors along its banks.
Growing Local Flora
The ‘Growing Local Flora’ project is one of our key ongoing projects that feeds into all of our woodland enhancement work. Beginning in 2013, the project aims to produce a large amount of local provenance woodland plants and supply them free of charge to partners of the Birmingham and Black Country Nature Improvement Area (NIA) who are who are undertaking Woodland Delivery Theme projects.
Purple Horizons
A scheme extending across up to 10,000 hectares on the fringes of the West Midlands conurbation and focusing on restoring and connecting fragmented heathlands to create a mosaic of heathlands, wetlands, woodlands and grasslands. It will link up existing protected areas, work with local landowners to deliver habitat creation and carbon storage, and is developing a plan for connecting with communities in the deprived areas of Walsall to deliver green areas where they will have the greatest health benefits.
Dudley's Path to Nature Recovery
Launching in 2024, Dudley’s Path to Nature Recovery is our new project to connect local communities to nature across Dudley's rich landscape of hills through five interlinked activities - conservation work, community engagement, citizen science, partnership development and the creation of new walking routes.
Former Projects
Whilst there are too many to mention individually, here are a few notable projects which have recently ended.
Natural Prospects
Thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the groundbreaking Natural Prospects project enabled 30 local people to take their first steps into careers in urban conservation. The purpose of the traineeship was to help tackle the barriers that some individuals face when looking for work in the environmental conservation sector, welcoming applications from non-graduates, those in receipt of benefits or people from black or minority ethnic groups.
Love Your River Cole
Love Your River Cole (LYRiC) was a cross-sector partnership to deliver a wide range of improvements across the Cole Valley, a strategic green corridor linking the centre of Birmingham to rural Warwickshire reaching 175,899 people living within 1km. The project tackled the themes of nature conservation and restoration, nature-based solutions and connecting people with nature.
Love Your River Stour
Love Your River Stour aims to improve the condition of the River Stour, its tributaries and the adjacent surrounding habitat to create a corridor for wildlife to thrive through the heart of the Black Country. We will encourage communities to act for their local river and surrounding habitat, creating a legacy of engaged individuals who will help protect it long into the future.
Building a bird box © Broni Lloyd-Edwards
Youth Action for Nature
We want to empower young people across Birmingham and the Black Country to build a strong relationship with the natural spaces around them, and in turn, to be able to take action to protect those spaces and nature as a whole.