NATURE RECOVERY NOW: Together for our Planet Award

Funded by a National Lottery Community Fund Together for our Planet Award

March 2025

The project aimed to strengthen community-led action for biodiversity and climate resilience, with a focus on practical engagement and skills development — connecting people with the knowledge and confidence to make a difference where they live.

The project took two main forms: a Nature Recovery Surgery Drop-in Day and a series of Heritage Orchard Skills Workshops. Both elements brought people together to learn, share, and take action for the local environment.

The Nature Recovery Surgery Drop-in Day

The Nature Recovery Surgery, held at March Community Centre in July 2023, brought together local residents, councillors, and community groups from across Fenland. The event offered practical advice, short talks, and one-to-one conversations about how people could take action for nature in their area.

More than 50 participants attended throughout the day, engaging directly with representatives from partner organisations including Fenland District Council, Cambridgeshire ACRE, PECT, Groundwork East, Clarion Housing, Cambridgeshire Skills, and the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Landscape Regeneration.

Sharing knowledge across sectors

Each organisation contributed its expertise, providing one-to-one guidance and information on topics ranging from biodiversity improvements to volunteering opportunities and project funding.

The day also provided an opportunity to pilot the ‘Tell Us One Thing’ survey, developed to gather residents’ views on nature in their local area. Responses helped to inform public engagement activities for the county’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy and future engagement activities with libraries and local events.

Laying the groundwork for future collaboration

Overall, the day demonstrated the appetite for practical, place-based discussions on nature recovery. It highlighted the power of accessible, local engagement. Participants left with contacts, ideas, and renewed energy to take forward their own initiatives. For project partners, it provided a valuable networking opportunity and insights into local priorities and barriers — insights that informed later work, including the Heritage Orchard Skills Workshops.

The Heritage Orchard Skills Workshops

Delivered in early 2025 in partnership with Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT), the Orchard Skills Workshops offered hands-on training at three community sites: Fenland Orchards Project (Wisbech), West Raven Café and Garden (Peterborough), and Ramsey Abbey Walled Garden (Ramsey).

Led by Andy Howard of the Heritage Fruit Tree Company and supported by Tony Cook of PECT, the workshops taught participants how to graft fruit trees — a traditional method of preserving local apple varieties and maintaining healthy, diverse orchards, as well as providing a cultural and historical context of fruit-growing and propagation techniques over the centuries

Across four sessions, 32 participants gained practical experience in grafting, orchard management, and understanding the wider history and ecological role of traditional orchards. Feedback from participants and partners was overwhelmingly positive. Many highlighted the workshops’ accessible teaching style, mix of theory and practice, and the opportunity to learn a tangible, transferable skill. Participants took away with them their grafts, which subsequently resulted in at least an 80% success rate.

One partner from the Fenland Orchards Project described the impact clearly:

“The workshop gave volunteers and visitors a great insight into what can be achieved. Andy, from The Heritage Fruit Tree Company gave everyone time to absorb the history of grafting, the different types of graft and then the time to create their own tree. We would recommend this workshop to everyone, and our grafts are already starting to show signs of life.”

Through both elements, the project demonstrated how flexible, partnership-led approaches can achieve meaningful results with modest resources.

The Nature Recovery Surgery Drop-in built connections, surfaced local priorities, and generated momentum for future initiatives. The Orchard Skills Workshops equipped people with practical knowledge and sparked local enthusiasm for **biodiversity-friendly food growing and heritage preservation**.

Together, these activities showed that by investing in skills, networks, and community knowledge, it’s possible to empower people to lead positive action for nature in their own places.