Welcome to Green Circle Nature Regeneration a Community Interest Company working in Leicester city and Leicestershire.
We passionately believe that where you are born should not act as a barrier to engage with nature and that a connection to nature benefits the well-being of people and the natural world.
The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, and many people have low levels of connection with nature. This is a problem because we are missing out on the many benefits that nature provides, and nature suffers when people don’t care about it. We need to urgently restore our natural environment for both wildlife and for people.
Helping environments to recover and connecting people to nature is what we do. We work hard to protect and restore nature through habitat and biodiversity enhancement. To do this we work with people who previously had little experience of the natural world. And, we create engaging outdoor, educational experiences for young people to foster in them a connection with nature that will last a lifetime.
Our work has lasting impacts: we regenerate green and blue spaces so that they are bursting with wildlife, and we empower people to appreciate and enjoy the natural world.
Connecting people with nature
Access to nature is not equal especially for young people. We are passionate about changing that and providing safe, fun and inspiring opportunities for all young people to enjoy and learn about nature. We are especially interested in bringing nature to life for young people from disadvantaged or marginalised communities, or those from backgrounds that do not normally engage with nature.
The benefits of interacting with nature are many and include improving physical and mental health, building confidence in the outdoors and improved practical skills and academic performance. Also, positive engagement with nature engenders in people a sense of responsibility and encourages pro-nature behaviour – so the environment benefits too.
We work in partnership with a number of organisations to provide activities and educational experiences that are fun but also allow for a deeper understanding of the environment. For example, we offer young people an exciting novel perspective on the river and its ecology by teaching them to use underwater sonar and cameras, as well as water chemistry testing equipment. We have found that young people really enjoyed experiencing their city from a different perspective and learning new things, but were especially enthusiastic about using technology, being astounded to see so much wildlife on their doorstep.
This connects people to nature through genuine hand-on experience of nature and this in turn engenders a positive attitude to the environment and the living world.
Working with nature
The city of Leicester has green spaces and riverside habitats that people can enjoy and access to connect with nature. We work in, develop, advise and improve sites in urban Leicester. In particular in one of our sites we have protected and developed habitat for bats, of which there are seven species recorded including the nationally rare Nathusius’ pipistrelle, badgers and otters, and a wide variety of birds nest at the site. This site is an important refuge for breeding fish and the waters are abundant with fry, which once matured repopulate the River Soar.
More recently we have worked with Blaby District Council at Fosse Meadows Country Park to undertake projects to improve biodiversity and improve visitor’s connection to nature at this popular park. We have regenerated lakeside marginal habitats, creating shallow water scrapes so they now teem with insect life and birds. Our work has also breathed new life into areas of ex-plantation woodland allowing understory flora to regenerate – now ferns, bluebells and other species flourish providing diverse habitats for mammals, birds, amphibians insects and other invertebrates to thrive.
We can connect people to nature at these sites because we have an intimate knowledge of these beautiful places. We show people the wonders of nature both above and below the water: showcasing the diversity of life from the aptly named Dog’s Vomit fungus (which is actually a slime mould), through to spawning pike, to otter’s trackways, badger setts and bat roosts.
Litter reduction
We believe that solving the litter crisis needs both prevention, education and targeted, evidence-based solutions.
Scenes of widespread fast food packaging, plastic bottles, aluminium drinks cans and unwanted clothing and household items are on the rise in our city and countryside. Littering is ruining our precious green spaces and waterways. Litter releases harmful toxins and emissions, is dangerous to animals and plants and is unsightly, and litter in our waterways causes flooding.
We are reducing litter on our doorstep in Leicester through a number of initiatives. We are campaigning and bringing to people’s attention the devastation caused by litter – some of our media engagement can be seen here.
We are working with the University of Leicester and Leicester City Council to survey where and what type of litter is most abundant, and what happens to it once in the environment. This data informs us where and how to most effectively tackle litter pollution. We are also surveying microplastic pollution in our city in the atmosphere, rivers and other environments.
We educate and inspire the younger generation to do better than we have. Our connecting to nature activities allow direct observation on the harmful effects of litter and we encourage participant dialogue and empathy to think about what a litter-free society would look and feel like for people and for nature.
We physically remove litter – this alleviates flooding and the harmful effects of litter in the environment, and it sends a message to the community that littering is wrong. As well as litter that we can see there is a lot that is hidden beneath the water’s surface of the River Soar. Using our powerboat we deploy underwater cameras and sonar to track and remove this litter.
Our work on litter reduction helps people to connect to nature by making our natural spaces more beautiful; people care more about places they enjoy and value.
River guardianship
Our staff have a deep understanding and experience of the rivers in and around Leicester City, and are qualified in powerboat boat helm, aquatic first-aid and safe recovery and disposal of bird-flu victims. Leicester is bisected by the River Soar – a tributary of the Trent. This beautiful river, like many of our waterways is under threat from pollution, habitat loss, invasive species and human-derived pressures, including criminal activity. In some parts of Leicester people are less likely to access the riverside and the water owing to antisocial behaviour including drug and alcohol issues, and littering. Moreover, illegal signal crayfish trapping and illegal fishing are threatening native wildlife.
At Green Circle Nature Regeneration, we use our powerboat (funded by Severn Trent Water) to regularly survey the River Soar. We monitor the state of the river, its flora and fauna and we attend to problems, such as removing illegal traps, litter and other hazards to wildlife. Our presence on the river is helpful to the local communities who see us as a point of contact to report issues to and our presence is a deterrent to antisocial behaviour and illegal activities. Our staff are regularly invited to join Environment Agency Waterways Patrol Teams and work with the local Police Wildlife Crimes Officers.
Our river guardianship work helps to connect people to nature by improving the river corridor habitat, biodiversity, reduce litter and make the Soar corridor feel like a safer space to spend time in.
Research
We support and undertake a range of research projects. We work with the University of Leicester, De Montford University, Leicester City Council and Seven Trent Water.
We have a range of equipment that can support researchers. For example, to access rivers and lakes we use our canoes, drop-front motor boat and other equipment. We deploy sonar and underwater cameras, and camera traps. Our staff have an intimate knowledge of the River Soar that has proven critical in scientific research on a number of projects. Projects have included those to quantify the plastic pollution in our city, especially in the River Soar; other research has deployed specialized coring equipment to analyse the changes in chemicals, pollution and flora through time as recorded in river and lake sediments, back several thousand years to the present. These investigations help us to understand the changes in biodiversity through time caused by human interference and how we can re-naturalise the environment to one before human interventions occurred, for example through removing invasive species and planting indigenous species that were part of our natural landscape.
Our understanding of the environment at a research level and the pressures it is under that are associated with human activities allow us to connect people with nature at a deep level allowing for enhanced educational opportunities and for young people to experience the natural world through the eyes and experience of a research scientist. We find that this unique insight really engages people.
Supporting young offenders and victims of domestic violence
Working with the local police we are developing projects to provide a safe haven and utilising nature for vulnerable people, including the Violence Reduction Network (www.violencereductionnetwork.co.uk) and breaking the cycle of knife crime amongst young people by providing a separate outlet.