Dear friend, A new STAA project at Urban Nature has been shortlisted for a Severn Trent Community Fund Gold Award and we need your help to make sure we win it.The award total is £20,000 to support our ‘Growing Wild’ project to enhance inner-city green spaces here at St Ann’s Allotments. The awards are chosen by public vote…
I’ve been reflecting on the purpose of our Urban Nature garden, particularly as Spring awakens. It is a series of 10 plots on St Ann’s Allotments, established nearly 20 years ago as a space to be managed for wildlife. What does that really mean? Of course, the whole site is beneficial for nature as…
For those of you, both gardeners and visitors, who have gallantly trekked up and down the steep avenues and pathways of St Ann’s Allotments, being out of breath is a natural hazard. Today, gardeners may be able to drive their cars to within a reasonable distance of their plot, but inevitably there will be those…
Dear reader, Have you seen your first daffodil of the year yet? Spring is certainly in the air, and we’re delighted to share our programme of Spring workshops with you 🌼 We’ve got everything from microgreens and soil fertility to floral gifts and spring wreath making. Plus we’ve launched our guided heritage tour dates from March to…
Since lockdown, there has been an outbreak of skips where I live. People have been taking the opportunity to alter or add to their house and garden. Sadly, in one particular case, I noticed that the majority of the content of one skip was top-soil. I didn’t know the people who lived at the house,…
During my local lockdown walks last year, I started learning how to recognise birds by their song and call, and it’s much easier than you might think. Winter is absolutely the best time to start because we only have our winter residents around. Once we get into Spring, our migratory birds will start to return,…