The Wilder Bramley group was formed in February 2022 to connect people who enjoy and appreciate nature in Bramley. The group secured the support of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust through a joint funded programme (Wilder Basingstoke & Deane) in conjunction with Basingstoke & Deane council.
The group is the first Team Wilder community group in the borough supported through the programme, which aims to enable the community to develop schemes that benefit wildlife and people throughout their local area. We caught up with community group members to hear some of their highlights so far.
- Developing a community Bee garden - created with plants donated and planted by members of the local community and a volunteer network was established to help maintain the garden.
- Encouraging residents to help nature in extreme weather - encouraged residents to adopt and water the newly planted trees as they were suffering from the extreme weather conditions, this was supported by a local business supplying a large water container.
- Working alongside the local Forest school teacher - a Summer Bug Hotel competition has been put in place to engage with some of the younger residents of Bramley.
- Implementing and encouraging locals on nature walks - that so far have included a Butterfly walk, a Bluebell walk and a Wellness walk.
- Growing their Facebook page and press coverage - their Facebook page currently has over 220 members and they have secured a regular slot in the Monthly Bramley magazine and had a guest article in the local Sherfield on Lodden magazine.