Working as the Wildlife Champions Coordinator at Avon Wildlife Trust for the past two years allowed me to find joy and hope every day. I found myself tuning into the urban soundscape, hearing and seeing beyond the hustle and bustle of the city. Robins, blackbirds and goldfinches became my alarm call. Chattering robins and cooing pigeons became my commute to work. Identifying plants, insects and bird song felt like a new language, my vocabulary growing slowly. Separate streets, neighbourhoods and postcodes started to piece together and as I unwound the threads of community tying them together.
The Wildlife Champions Programme shone a light on these connections, with nature and community pride at the heart of these networks. From locals gathering to watch stars and count glow worms in Stockwood, to celebrating beavers, rivers and permaculture in Batheaston, to monitoring bats as part of ‘flappy hour’ in Pill, people are bringing nature back to the heart of their neighbourhoods. Seeing both large and small actions being taken for nature across the region filled me with hope that building a movement and creating change is possible. A greener, fairer, more connected future is within reach, and local communities are the ones who will get us there.
