A new charity to connect, guide and support people who want their gardens to contribute to flourishing nature across their neighbourhoods and beyond
Natural Neighbours is a new charity set up to connect, guide and support people who want their gardens to contribute to flourishing nature across their neighbourhoods and beyond. We’ve only just been registered by the Charity Commission (Charity Number 1200486) and are in our early days of setting up shop.
We’ll be publishing more detailed plans imminently but if you can’t wait to find out more, please do drop us a line to hello@naturalneighbours.org.uk
Our vision of ‘Nature wellness’ is one of towns and cities hosting rich ecological
and human networks that live in harmony and balance with each other.
Our USP is our focus on connectivity – connecting wildlife gardeners, so they can collaborate strategically to create and connect a network of wildlife habitats and, in the process, become more connected with nature, their communities, and themselves.
Our approach includes using dynamic and interactive online mapping – of wildlife gardeners; of the habitats, they create, maintain, and connect; of local wildlife observations; and of the health, social and other data that cutting-edge science is showing to be affected by ‘nature connectedness’.
“What a great idea Natural Neighbours is, helping to build communities that work together for local wildlife.”
Kate Bradbury
Award-Winning Garden Writer, Broadcaster and TV Presenter
We’ve got a great team, an exciting vision and a cutting-edge plan to deliver it but we would certainly welcome expertise, advice and even a little handy-work in the following areas
– Digital generally, but especially interactive online mapping and the data management associated with it.
– Marketing and communications.
– Funding and fundraising.
– Conservation and ecology, especially of urban-adaptable species in the UK.
– Cross-community engagement, including through schools, hospitals, care homes, and other institutions.
– Nature-derived individual and social health and wellbeing.
“Natural Neighbours is a brilliant idea. The prize is people being able to create neighbourhoods that are more abundant with life, improve people’s health and have richer communities.”
Daniel Raven-Ellison
Author, National Geographic Explorer and Founder of National Park Cities
Julian Kirby
Founder & Chair
Lauren Mills
Trustee – Education, Community & Inclusion
Siôn Elis Williams
Trustee – Digital Innovation & Connectivity
Caroline Loden
Trustee – Finance and Governance
Vicki Hird
Trustee – Policy & Ecology
Denis Fernando
Associate Trustee – Networks & Politics
“The synergy at the heart of Natural Neighbours, of social networks of wildlife gardeners creating ecological networks of habitat, is absolutely brilliant.”
Tom Oliver
Professor of Applied Ecology, Research Dean for
Environment, and author, University of Reading