Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust

RCN 700638, Sheffield

Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust collaborates with the local community to safeguard and enhance the environment, creating a better future for wildlife, people and the green spaces that we all depend on. Our vision is that throughout Sheffield and Rotherham, from our streets & neighbourhoods to the wider countryside, there will be an abundance of nature that is protected, cared for and experienced by everyone.

We want to make it easy for people in Sheffield and Rotherham to access and enjoy green spaces and wildlife in urban areas. 

Spending time in green spaces and connecting with nature is hugely beneficial to our mental health. However our busy lives and lack of access in urban areas can mean we don't take that opportunity. 

By 2030, we want: 

  • 30% of land and water to be great for nature 
  • 1 in 4 people to be taking action for nature 
  • Everyone to be within 5 minutes of nature 

Everything that we do contributes to one or more of these outcomes. Current projects include: 

-Managing 15 nature reserves and one nature friendly farm, ensuring that they are accessible to members of the public so that everyone has access to nature to benefit mental and physical health, as well as ensuring that wildlife can thrive during a time of biodiversity crisis. 

-Engaging with schools and young people is particularly important, especially those in deprived areas where we know access to nature is more difficult. We want to inspire young people to become the future of nature's recovery. 

-Our Wild at Heart green social prescribing programme supports the isolated and those experiencing mental ill health in our communities. 

-Our Connecting Steps project is helping to empower and enable minority groups throughout the city to enjoy and care for their local green spaces through nature connection activities. 

-Nature Recovery Sheffield & Rotherham encourages individuals and groups to take action for nature through community organising. 

-We use Nature Based Solutions to solve societal problems, like flooding , air quality and mental health, by using natural processes.

Our Impact

Here's an overview of how our worked benefited people and nature last year:

  • 17,723 volunteer hours. 
  • Developing the grounds at 8 schools to for young people to engage with nature. 
  • Over 150 people were involved with planning and enhancing their local green space in Rotherham. 
  • Spoke to over 2000 adults and 800 young people from ethnic minorities, from 18 nationalities. And took 164 adults and 90 young people, from 7 ethnicities, on their first ever walk around a nature reserve. 
  • Supported 270 older people experiencing mental ill health to connect with nature through our Wild at Heart programme. 
  • Connected 3500 children and young people with nature through events and groups. 
  • Over 70 teachers and 425 HE students attended a training session in outdoor activity provision. 
  • Over 350 healthcare professionals attended training or wellbeing sessions increasing awareness of nature on mental health. 
  • Implemented over 100 nature based solutions, such as leaky dams, to reduce the impact of flooding for thousands of people living locally. 
  • Supported habitat creation, species recovery plans and feasibility studies, including for water voles and beavers; helping wildlife to thrive and allowing people to connect with it. 
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