A practical guide to understanding the wildlife in your parish and what steps you can take to support it

This day’s course for Local Community Groups, Parish Councils and Neighbourhood Plan steering groups will explore ways in which your community can contribute to creating a wilder Suffolk and ensure greater protection for nature, now and in the future.

The course will take place in Laxfield, which benefits from several green spaces within easy reach of the venue.

During the day, you will learn about where to find evidence of the habitats and species already present in your parish by undertaking a desktop search, which will then help identify opportunities and guide priorities. We will discuss the concept of green corridors and their importance for wildlife and explore the local parish to see where corridors could be created between existing wildlife sites.

Following your time in the village hall, you will be taken on an exploration of some green spaces, where we will uncover the truth of the information revealed in the desktop search. We will also touch upon planning policy including Biodiversity Net Gain and how this could affect your parish, your group's objectives, Neighbourhood Plan, or Biodiversity Action Plan.

This course will provide an opportunity to ask specific questions about your parish and how to take forward plans to support wildlife where you live.

Tea and coffee will be provided throughout the day. Please feel free to bring your own re-usable mug, or a flask.

You will also need:

A packed lunch

Notepad and pen

A camera, binoculars, hand lens and field guides if you wish;

Please dress suitably for the weather and for a walk around the local green spaces. The walk will be approximately 1.5 miles and will be adapted if the weather is unfavourable.

We are grateful to Laxfield Parish Council, Laxfield Greener Spaces working group and Laxfield Wildlife Group for making this course possible and for their support in sharing best practice and community engagement. The photo of the church (courtesy of Laxfield Parish Clerk) shows how the churchyard has been left wild to attract entomology and wildlife. It features several mown paths plus hedgerows that are being managed for wildlife, following a strategy developed by the Parish Council. There are three ‘key’ wildlife Sites within the parish: Laxfield Cemetery, Mobbs Meadow (also known as Laxfield Meadow) and Laxfield Wood plus further plans 'potentially' to transform other village locations. Representatives from Laxfield village groups will share more during the course.

When booking please ensure your email/contact address is correct as it will be used to send event joining instructions. If you do not receive these instructions after booking, please contact: community.networks@suffolkwildlifetrust.org

Please note that your booking is non-refundable and non-transferable and we run all our courses based on a minimum number of participants. You can find our full Terms & Conditions via this link: https://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/wildlearninginfo

To book via Invoice, please complete the form here and send to community.networks@suffolkwildlifetrust.org

This is the one of a series of Wilder Communities events arranged by Suffolk Wildlife Trust to support communities, parish councils and churches in optimising the habitat for wildlife in their local public spaces. Topics in the programme include:

Planning for wildlife in your community

Churchyard management

Community land purchase

and more.....

To find all current courses and webinars as they are launched you can visit our Wilder Communities page here: Wilder Communities | Suffolk Wildlife Trust

Places are available on a first come first served basis. If the course you wish to attend is full or you cannot make the date, please let us know so that we can register your interest and let you know of opportunities planned for the future. You can contact us on community.networks@suffolkwildlifetrust.org or Tel: 01473 890 089.

For more information on our Community Group support and wildlife advice: https://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/communitygreenspaces

If you are a community or individual already taking action for wildlife, please do tell us about it and map your action on our website here: https://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/team-wilder

If you work for or run a company, have you thought about joining Suffolk Wildlife Trust as an Investor in Wildlife Business Member? To find out more, click this link: https://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/corporatesupport

Description supplied by the event organiser.