In the third of our ‘Spotlight On’ series, Wendy Kewley meets Sarah Short, Learning & Wellbeing Officer for Tewkesbury Nature Reserve.
Sandwiched between modern brick houses and the busy A38 lies a fabulous green oasis – welcome to Tewkesbury Nature Reserve.
A short 10-minute walk from the historic city, the urban wetland was created in 2012 when it was decided that building housing on a flood plain was not the best of ideas. The 108-acre is now completely dedicated to wildlife and has the bonus of the River Swilgate flowing through the middle. Recent surveys have recorded up to 68 species of birds visiting, together with 87 different invertebrates also enjoying the environment.
“It’s absolutely just a place of peace for me,” says Sarah Short, Learning & Wellbeing Officer, as we wander along with our fellow walkers on the ‘Wildlife Walk & Talk’, together with Eve Quiney, Access and Community Officer.
Sarah adds: “It’s a huge space that I can relax in and take the time to listen to things that are bigger than myself and my worries shrink a little bit when I’m here. I hope to bring that to other people a little bit.”
She is responsible for ‘The Water and Wildlife for Wellbeing’ project or the ‘3W’ project for short which began over a year ago thanks to funding from the NHS Integrated Care Board and the Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership. Guided by research demonstrating that connecting more closely with nature can help promote better health wellbeing, the project builds on the power of green (nature) and blue (water) social prescribing.
Over 260 people have attended the project’s wellbeing events. Thanks to a Community Health and Wellbeing Grant, the project is in its second year enabling Sarah to act on learnings from the first year’s pilot projects.
The biggest learning, she reflects, is the importance of creating a sense of community with regular events that then build a sense of trust and familiarity.
The ‘Wildlife Walk & Talk’ is one such happening with a core group of people frequently attending, including Richard, Steve, Christine and 13-year-old Daniel, who joined our ramble, gently chatting as we all checked out the bird hide and then the stream – so clear!
Other events run by the 3W project include mindfulness wreath workshops, a Peace Dove session with Age UK, wellbeing art and nature sessions and family river and wildlife workshops, with a ‘Greener Together’ event run in partnership with the Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury Abbey and the John Moore Museum.
Partnerships help support the projects and raise awareness of the reserve to different communities within the local area. In her first community role, Sarah admits that it felt strange approaching organisations for support after her background in the NHS.
“But, we have such an amazing collection of organisations around us who want to help and we’re actually working towards a common goal.
“Most people are genuinely keen to help and keen to collaborate on things, so don’t be afraid to ask and reach out to different organisations, especially if there’s some kind of goal that you think you can both work towards.”
Following her own advice, she approached the nearby community hospital and now works with some of their dementia patients to reminisce around nature. Similarly, she was impressed by the Mizuiku Family Workshops run by Severn Rivers Trust, so asked if they’d be interested in doing something in Tewkesbury – and to her delight they said yes.
“We had an event in half term with them and we had 132 people over two days – it was amazing, and they were amazing. I’ll sing their praises! And they’re going to be back in the summer.”
The success has shown that working with a new organisation may lead to a longer-lasting partnership with benefits for everyone going forward.
One of the key aims over the next few months is to encourage more visitors to the nature reserve.
Sarah explains: “A lot of people in Tewkesbury town don’t know that the nature reserve is for them as well, so it’s quite a big barrier.”
Ironically, it’s sometimes the people who are on the doorstep who are hardest to tempt into the meadows. It’s hoped that a leafleting campaign around Priors Park will encourage more of the local neighbourhood to attend the summer events and explore the reserve.
People generally come across the reserve through GP referrals or another community organisation, schools or through a friend or word of mouth.
Keen to be inclusive, Sarah adds: “I think it’s very much that certain groups don’t want to feel targeted, but I want to make sure that everyone gets an invitation to use the space in a way that appeals to them.”
A group of SEN students from the local Alderman Knight School have become enthusiastic bird watchers since visiting.
Sarah says: “We’ve run lots of bird watching walks with them. They absolutely love it and it’s so nice to see them testing out their binoculars and enjoying the space.
“Often at the end, they’ll say they’re going to bring their parents or siblings.
“It’s open all the time, so sometimes it’s just getting people to the first few events. The invitation is that the space is there all the time for everyone to use as they wish.”
We carry on walking, and with the sight of Tewkesbury Abbey beckoning in the distance, the conversation turns to the craft workshop run by Sarah on the previous afternoon.
Eighteen people – including fellow walker Richard – had enjoyed creating spring wreaths from materials foraged around the reserve. Richard was pondering his wreath’s artistic merits - concluding positively that it was better than he had first thought. He then reflected on the merits of the reserve.
“It’s somewhere to get exercise – I don’t like the gym, but this is fantastic. I get involved with projects, achievements and you work with other people.
“And you go away feeling, yeeeeees, there’s a reason [why] I’m still here… This is it – the nature reserve!”
A long-standing volunteer, Richard’s particularly proud of his ‘compost corner’ – the grass snakes love it and there is now a colony of toads there too. It’s the perfect spot for a bug hunt, adds Sarah.
Another walker, Steve, came to the reserve after attending a four-week course on mindfulness and nature earlier in the year. Recently retired, the course has clearly rejuvenated him and he’s keen to encourage friends and family to visit and reap the benefits too.
“It’s a beautiful outside space to enjoy,” he says. “I don’t come here often enough.”
Meanwhile, Christine enjoys relaxing in the reserve with friends or reading a good book on one of the benches, while her teenage charge, Daniel, enjoys the birds and the peaceful environment.
For Sarah, the personal benefits are seeing visitors’ reactions to the beautiful surroundings for the first time.
“My favourite moment is when an individual realises that they want to come back and do it again.”
As the houses come into view signifying the end of our restorative walk, she adds:
“Actually, my absolute favourite thing is when we can do things on the reserve, so the crafting session last night was absolutely great, particularly because the weather held up!
“We’ve also made nettle soup over the fire with the children’s group – they loved the process of finding the nettles. It was a proper adventure.”
The last word goes to Eve, Access and Community Officer.
“It’s not often you get a nature reserve so close to the town,” she says. “You leave your house and 10 minutes later you’re in a reserve.
“You can just come out and sit on a bench with your binoculars and look at the bird life and nothing else really matters.”
Was this information useful?
We share weekly updates about news that matters to VCSE groups & organisations in Gloucestershire via our weekly News Bulletin. We also send out a free monthly Funding Bulletin. You can find out more and sign up on our newsletters page.
Support for the VCSE sector in Gloucestershire
We provide a range of support for VCSE sector groups & organisations of all shapes and sizes in Gloucestershire, including fully funded training & events, a range of thematic mailings, regular news updates, free membership and help to recruit volunteers.
We are the independent voice of the VCSE sector in Gloucestershire and are passionate about promoting equal partnerships at every level. You can find out more about how we work in partnership and represent the sector on our About Us page.
