The My Wild City sites are havens for wildlife spread across the city. From the wildflower-rich grasslands of  Hawkfield Meadows to the beautiful views of the city from Dundry Slopes, each site has something unique to offer.

Explore the sites: 

• Northern Slopes
• Dundry Slopes
• Hengrove Mounds and Hawkfield Meadow
• Saltmarsh Drive Open Space
• Lawrence Weston Moor
• Stockwood Open Space
• Coombe Brooke valley
• Dundridge Woodlands

Over the project, we connected over 6000 people to their local green space and worked with 86 community groups and delivered training to over 435 people! These residents and passionate wildlife champions helped to re-profile 2 wildlife ponds, restored 3 orchards, 13.6 hectares of wildflower meadow and improved 700m of waterways. A big thank you to everyone who helped make this possible. The project also worked with 1350 school children, trained 142 teachers and improved 5 school grounds.

Here are some of our highlights from across the project...

• We restored ditches and rhines at Lawrence Weston Moor to improve the habitat for the endangered water vole. With expertise from ecologist Sarah Dale we trained volunteers on how to look and record water vole tracks and signs which resulted in a resident filming a water vole on site tucking into some vegetation!
• In 2023, with the local community and Street Goat, we welcomed goats to Hengrove Mounds, who will help manage the scrub and improve the site for wildflowers and the rare carrot-mining bee.
• Glow worms were recorded on Stockwood open space for the first time in over a decade, thanks to the dedication of local residents. Our community glow-worm training also encouraged other local groups to look for glow-worms in their patch too! The Manor Woods Valley group subsequently recorded glow-worms on their site - the first record for 40 years! Records provided by the local community have helped inform a research project about a potential reintroduction in the Severn Vale.
• We've also created land management plans for all the sites and provided training opportunities for council grounds staff to improve their knowledge on wildlife and nature-friendly land management practices, so they can continue to enhance these sites for people and wildlife into the future.

“My Wild City has been an ambitious project that has improved local nature sites across the city for the benefit of people and wildlife. Thank you to Alex, Kelly, Lucy, Steph and all the brilliant staff that have helped connect over 6,000 Bristolians to their local green spaces. I wish Bristol City Council, Your Park, The Wild City Action Team, the local 'Friends of Groups', and more recently the Wednesday Action Group all the best for continuing their fantastic work on the sites and thank them all for their hard work. You have helped make Bristol a wilder city and we look forward to seeing how the sites develop over the future.”
 

- Ian Barrett, Chief Executive of Avon Wildlife Trust 

The success of this project revolves around the generosity, passion and enthusiasm of local people taking action for nature. A HUGE thank you to the Wild City Action Team, a.k.a. the Wild Cats, a dedicated group of volunteers who have roamed around the My Wild City sites every Tuesday, carrying out essential habitat works! Another big THANK YOU to the Wildlife Action Group Volunteers, Northern Slopes Initiative, Glyn Vale Heroes, Friends of Coombe Brook Valley, Friends of Stockwood Open Space, Dundry Slopes Conservation Group, local residents, wildlife champions, artists, musicians, council staff, glow-worm hunters, water vole monitors, newt checkers, orchid spotters, goat herders and bee befrienders– we appreciate you, and our wild neighbours do too!

What now? Going forwards the management of these sites will be continued by volunteers, community groups, Your Park and Bristol City Council.

You can find out lots more about My Wild City - including discoveries, stories, resources, information and maps for each My Wild City site, and how to get involved here - My Wild City | Avon Wildlife Trust.