Achievements

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PLANTING

Community orchards at Bennett’s Court, Westbourne Park, St Martin’s Field and Grove Hill Park

Wildflower beds at Wharfedale Hospital, Westgate Surgery, Otley churches (Parish, Bridge and Our Lady), and Wharfemeadows Park

Wildflower verges at Pool Road, West Chevin Road, Burras Lane, Saville Court and Claro Mews

Weston Community Nature Garden

Creating mapped wildlife corridors

Giving ecological advice to Leeds City Council on the management of local green spaces 

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Also: a Plant & Seed Swap; balsam bashing sessions

 

DEVELOPING A NATURE RECOVERY PLAN FOR OTLEY

Including the development of north-south wildlife corridors.

 

EDUCATION

Primary school Wildlife Days (All Saints, Westgate, St Joseph’s, Ashfield, the Whartons, Pool, Bramhope and Yeadon Queensway); including assemblies, lessons, games, wildlife hunts, habitat creation (and even fancy dress!). Bringing along Prickly Pigs, West Yorkshire Bat Group and the Yorkshire Dales River Trust and their assorted live creatures.

With our help, all Otley schools now have a wildlife pond.

Involvement in school Science Weeks and Walk to School Weeks.

Meetings with (UN Sustainable Goals) Eco Clubs.

School grounds developments: planting sessions (trees, seeds, bulbs),  supplying swift boxes (Westgate), bird tables and feeders, blue tit and robin nest-boxes (the 5 Otley primary schools), trail cameras, invertebrate homes, frog and toad houses, creating planter wildlife gardens (Westgate)

Working with secondary schools, in particular Prince Henry’s (giving two sixth formers the opportunity to become trustees; leading an assembly for 240 Year 7’s; meetings with the Ecommittee, giving Year 10 volunteering opportunities each Timanyane Day)

Facilitating creative responses to nature through our Wildlife Arts Festival, at which children’s work was exhibited to the community, and wildlife authors Jeanne Willis and Nicola Penfold worked in schools.

Delivering lessons on “How local groups can have a positive impact on wildlife and climate”

Running wildlife sessions for Little Green Frog Nursery and Monkey Puzzle Nursery.

Running wildlife sessions for local cubs and brownies on the Chevin and at Gallows Hill.

 

TOADS

Saving literally thousands of toads on East Busk Lane and Guiseley Drive every year.

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OWLS

Putting up many Barn Owl nest boxes and monitoring the local population. A live-stream from a local box, with local schools involved in naming the owlets.

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ENGAGEMENT

4 Wildlife Arts Festivals: featuring the work of 6 local creative groups, about 2 dozen further individuals, poetry (including a book), ticketed events featuring our patron George McGavin (twice), Ian McCarthy (twice), Simon Barnes, Daniel Bye & Boff Whalley, Amy Jane Beer, Tom Heap, Tracy Lund, Kate Bradbury; short factual talks, live chainsaw sculpting, a sonic nature trail, a shop window nature trail for kids, workshops in collage, linocut printing, wildlife photography; children’s art workshops from Pat Foster and Alex Eve

Producing a Wildlife in Gardens leaflet delivered to every house in Otley.

Wildlife-friendly Gardens competition

3 Chevin Discovery Days

Partnerships with businesses (the Co-op, Sinclair’s, Art Works, BT, Courtyard Planters, Microclimate Books, Otley Garden Centre, the Horse & Farrier, the Black Horse, Shadow Brewing, the Curious Hop), other nature groups (Wharfedale Naturalists Society, Yorkshire Rewilding Network, Otley Swift Watch, Yorkshire Peat Partnership, Friends of Gallows Hill, Prickly Pigs, Friends of Chevin Forest- the Otley Nature Network) and other community groups (Otley2030, Wharfedale Men’s Shed, the Courthouse, Denton Estate, Otley Camera Club, Otley Sewing Collective)

Partnership with Otley Town Council, who as a result have declared a biodiversity emergency and adopted our Nature Recovery Plan.

Otley Walking Festival walks: Where to watch wildlife in Otley, wildflowers, Otley’s favourite trees, Finding wellbeing in nature, Otley’s wildlife gardens, Weston Woods, Insect habitats and havens, Critter Crawl for kids

Regular stalls at the Green Fair, the Science Festival, and Otley Carnival

Concerts by the CJ Smith Band, Kitty Macfarlane, Detta Kenzie, Laura Barker Bey

Helping steer the community purchase of Weston Woods

Participation in Otley Christmas Tree Festival

Participation in Otley Flower Festival

Producing a “Where to watch wildlife in Otley” leaflet (now on second edition)

A Duck Food Campaign

A Feed the Birds Campaign reaching local isolated elderly people

A Pesticides and Herbicides Campaign

A smart, engaging website

Participation in Otley Kindness Festival (an “Engaging children with nature” workshop)

A gin-tasting evening with Sloe Motion, the sustainable, nature-friendly gin makers

The “Seen in Otley” series

Our Video

Built a 400+ membership   

Built a social media following:   Facebook  1K+          Instagram  1K+    

                                                           X  500+                      Bluesky  50+

 

FUNDRAISING

Substantial grants from Wharfedale Naturalists Society, Lush, Co-op, and Tesco

The support of Bermuda’s Cash Trash Bash

Adopted charity for PHGS (2025) and St Joseph’s Year 1 (2021)

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LOBBYING

The East of Otley development

 

BECOMING A CHARITY

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SECURING GEORGE MCGAVIN AS OUR PATRON

one of the Uk’s foremost entomologists and a respected academic, author and broadcaster