Jen Burke’s Post

In their article in today's Guardian (Trigger-happy councils mowing down our spring flowers? There’s a better way to do things.) Phineas Harper writes that "Systemic problems need systemic solutions. As a campaign to persuade individual homeowners to change how they garden, No Mow May is a charming but inherently limited initiative. However, as a tool to persuade not just individuals but public authorities to rethink their out-of-date intensive mowing and poison-spraying regimes, it can make a real impact on nature recovery in the UK." My local council (Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead) have just introduced an initiative to encourage community stewardship of verges. My application is already in to take responsibility for the patch outside my house. 😀 It isn't a systemic solution but it's certainly a good start in returning agency to local residents. https://lnkd.in/e8_8CWPh #biodiversity #NoMowMay Simon Werner

🌳 A Green Revolution in West End 🌿 We are excited to share our latest project that's set to transform the West End into a vibrant urban food forest! This initiative is part of the City’s Neighborhood Partnership Grant program and reflects our commitment to sustainable urban development. Nestled in the Sulger subdivision, at 340 E. Busby Drive and 345 Sheila Lane, our urban food forest will grow on two City-owned lots. We’re rolling out this project in three phases: 1. Fencing: The first step is establishing a secure perimeter, and we’re making great progress. 2. Planning & Planting: Our efforts here are centered around rainwater harvesting, ecological balance, and planting diverse plant species. 3. Signage & Maintenance: We’ll install educational signage and have a solid plan for ongoing care. Echoing Hope Ranch, a Hereford-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has generously committed to maintaining the food forest for a decade. Together, we’re united in the mission to rejuvenate the Earth by implementing regenerative food systems! #JoinTheConversation Your input is invaluable to us. We invite you to a community meeting to discuss this exciting project: 📅 Saturday, March 2 ⏰ 10 a.m. 📍 Sierra Vista Food Co-op Let’s come together to cultivate not just a food forest, but a legacy of community and environmental well-being! #UrbanAgriculture #Sustainability #CommunityEngagement #FoodForest #ReapGoodness

Today is #InternationalDayOfForests, a day to celebrate and highlight the critical role that forests, and trees beyond forests, play in sustaining our planet and protecting our communities. Across our network, we're committed to ensuring that all communities have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of trees. That's why Groundwork Trusts lead urban tree planting initiatives, planting over 6,000 new trees annually in neighborhoods lacking sufficient canopy coverage. Check out some of the impactful work happening across our network: 🌳 Groundwork Ohio River Valley, in collaboration with their Climate Advisory Groups, organized Cincinnati's largest tree planting event last year - 140 community members planted 150 trees in climate-vulnerable neighborhoods. 🌳 Groundwork Bridgeport addresses social, economic, and health challenges through strategic tree planting efforts and youth programs like Tree Patrol. 🌳 Groundwork Rhode Island's #Trees4Us program ensures equitable access to trees for communities at risk from climate change, using the Tree Equity Score (TES) as a guide. And the list goes on! Explore more about how we champion tree equity and the holistic solutions we're implementing to create healthier, greener, more just, and more resilient communities. https://lnkd.in/gBHiWwGs #UrbanForestry #UrbanCanopy #ClimateSolutions #IntDayOfForests

The City of London Corporation has commissioned a report to show just what is the financial value of the benefits provided by the open spaces, parks and gardens that it operates in London and the South East. The City Corporation protects over 11,000 acres of parks, forests, heaths, gardens and historic open spaces. It spends £38 million a year on maintaining these open spaces. Many of these sites operate as charitable trusts and are run at little or no cost to the communities they serve. Additionally they include a wide variety of critically important wildlife habitats, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Areas of Conservation, and National Nature Reserves, and are protected under legislation. The report, produced by Natural Capital Solutions Ltd, calculated the value of the benefits that these open spaces deliver to the public, including through recreation, health and wellbeing, air and water quality, and by removing carbon from the atmosphere. It found that the overall benefit-to-cost ratio is 16.4 – meaning that every £1 spent on maintaining and protecting these open spaces delivers £16.40 in ‘natural capital benefits’ for the public. The bottom line is that this is worth £282.6 million each year in benefits to society, and £8.1 billion over 50 years. Read the full report here https://lnkd.in/eitgc8ui

🌿✨ Exciting news! I’m thrilled to share Part 1 of a short documentary series showcasing my thesis project, the Mawddach Coastal Botanical Garden. This garden is designed not only to promote biodiversity and sustainability but also to provide an innovative, nature-based solution for flood management in an area severely threatened by climate change. This project is more than just a garden—it’s a response to the pressing issue of rising sea levels, offering a solution to protect Fairbourne from future demolishment. The Mawddach Coastal Botanical Garden is a living, breathing plan to preserve the coastal ecosystem while honoring the sense of place that means so much to the local community. I understand the deep connection residents have to Fairbourne—the memories, the heritage, the emotional ties to a village facing potential loss. My goal is to create a space where nature and people can coexist in harmony, providing a sanctuary that both protects the land and respects the heart of this community. By working with natural systems, we can reduce flooding impacts, provide a resilient future, and, most importantly, offer hope to those who feel a sense of grief over the uncertain future of their home. In this short documentary, I invite you to take an immersive journey through this vision—explore the balance between protecting our environment and preserving the history and identity of Fairbourne. Together, we can embrace solutions that address climate change, support the community, and protect this special place for future generations. 🌊🌱 Your support means everything. Let’s take action to celebrate and protect our environment and communities in the face of these global challenges. To ensure this project is considered as a sustainable solution for Fairbourne, I invite Natural Resources Wales, the Welsh Government, the Fairbourne Moving Forward Project Board, and local councils to explore this proposal as part of the conversation around Fairbourne’s future. I hope this innovative approach can contribute to finding a balanced and sustainable way forward for the village and its people. Stay waiting for Part 2, where I will show more aspects of this garden and the vision behind it. #MawddachCoastalBotanicalGarden #ThesisProject #FloodManagement #Sustainability #Biodiversity #CommunityEngagement #ClimateAction #SenseOfPlace #Documentary #FairbourneMovingForward

Happy World Wetlands Day! 💦🌿 This day is more than just a date on the calendar; it's a moment to appreciate the vital role wetlands play in our ecosystems. From filtering our water to providing habitat for countless species, wetlands are the unsung heroes of our planet. In this narrative of conservation, beavers, once extinct in England, are now being reintroduced across the country as part of a wider trend in recent years. Beavers play a crucial role in supporting wetlands through their natural behaviours and habitat modifications. They build dams that regulate water flow, create diverse habitats, and enhance biodiversity, contributing to the overall health and resilience of the ecosystem. 🦦🌳 Last year, Groundwork London’s grants team joined the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, alongside other project partners to witness a family of 5 beavers being released back into west London. As an environmental charity, we deliver numerous funds that support our communities and environment, fostering biodiversity and ensuring a harmonious coexistence between nature and urban spaces. The Rewild London Fund is administered by Groundwork London to support land managers, and organisations working with them, to deliver priority habitat targets as part of the London Environment Strategy, and supports London’s Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) managers tackling barriers to good site management. Discover more available funds across London 👉 https://lnkd.in/gU7ENpUp #worldwetlandsday #beavers #groundworklondon

📢Calling all councils📢     Early registration for #NoMowMay is open now!    This annual campaign calls on all green space managers to help #nature and not mow during May, and also create meaningful change throughout the whole year 🌻   By signing up as early as January this year, we will help you along the way to make a change for nature by providing: 🌱 Our best practice guidance to managing verges and green spaces for nature, in the context of No Mow May.  🌺 Key case studies for change from local authorities across the UK showing a pathway to overcoming challenges such as community support, equipment costs, or green waste management.  🍃 Research and resources such as signs, posters, and infographics to help communicate the change to the local community.     We look forward to helping celebrate your local natural heritage by delivering for #nature, #people, and #climate in 2024 and beyond 🌿   Sign up here (note: this is for councils ONLY) 🍃 👉 https://lnkd.in/eMHZC_P7   You can explore our new 'Managing Road Verges & Greenspaces' toolkit, the go-to-place for guidance on how to best manage your greenspace, here 🌱  👉 https://lnkd.in/eCu9tQKz   #LetItBloomJune #greenspaces #greenspace #greenspacemanagement #roadverges #highways #wildflowers #wildplants #conservation #ecology   #communityempowerment #localauthority #localcommunity #parishcouncil #localcouncil #partnership #partnerships

Town Team Movement and Conservation Volunteers Australia want to help more local people, communities and environments to thrive! We’ve collaborated on this article to explore how the #placemaking approach can help create a better future for all, also inspired by the words and ideas of Social Life Project and PlacemakingX. Imagine if the places where we lived and worked were #green, #walkable, #affordable and #regenerative. Imagine if they made it easy for us to gather, shop, have fun, eat together, and be around people different from ourselves. With this #mindset, we could fundamentally change our communities, and collectively have a positive impact on the health of our planet! The major challenges of our time are global in scale. But the most effective solutions can often be found at the #street and #neighbourhood scale. #actlocal Conservation Volunteers Australia’s new Nature Blocks programme is an excellent example of how people and communities can get involved and enhance local biodiversity, with so many other positive social and environmental impacts! Town Team Movement is building a movement of positive #doers focused on improving their own local area through a shared purpose and values, summarised in the Town Team Charter. We'll be supporting CVA's partnership with Relationships Australia (Qld) to celebrate Neighbour Day in March + being Neighbours #EveryDay. The article features Perth-based WA Loves Nature, a not-for-profit organisation promoting Western Australia’s world-renowned biodiversity. They partnered with their local Town Team, West Perth Local, to create the West Perth Bee Scene Trail. The trail takes visitors around the central village of West Perth and aims to educate visitors about the importance of native bees. It is full of sculptures, art murals, bee hotels and wildflower gardens in an urban setting. Place + People + Local Businesses + Nature = awesome! The project was supported by City of Perth and the WA State Government. Read the article here - https://lnkd.in/gUui5dZN And check out Nature Blocks here - https://lnkd.in/ghbN42C4 Audrey Barucchi Germain Briand Placemaking Education Jimmy Murphy Dean Cracknell Emma Snow Cate Baker Patrycja Rosinska Claire Cardew Lisa Edwards Michelle Reynolds Basil Zempilas John Carey MLA Fred Kent Ethan Kent Seth Kaplan Jo Taranto Ben Kent Kendell Terrell Dahna Stead David Galloway Amanda McEvoy Cam Perkins Mike Fisher Mathilde Riou Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries Tim Fraser GAICD Christina Harmsen Nick Sloan WA Local Government Association (WALGA) Anna Chauvel Andy Sharp

Thrilled to write another #environmental story about California’s Central Valley, published in Red Canary Magazine. Of the states 280 state parks, about 32 of them are in the Central Valley, and many of those are recreation areas or historic sites, not natural areas. Where are central rural Californians supposed to learn about, let alone experience, their local natural history? My new essay is about greening California’s rural interior. Parks are there to serve the people as well as protect species and ecosystems. It’s time to serve the state’s most underserved region— especially here, since the Valley houses a large Spanish-speaking population who work the farms and deserve places to recreate outdoors and reap the benefits of time in nature. Maybe the creation of Dos Rios State Park, California’s first new state park in 13 years, will mark the beginning of large scale ecological restoration in this productive and troubled land of farming. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gmQUFr9i #centralvalley #California #ruralcalifornia

TREE-topia …  TREE-rific.   We applaud the tremendous effort by Bruce, Kurt, Gavin and the Myalup Community Association.    All communities across the State should thank the dedicated volunteers and aspire to such prolific tree planting.    The metropolitan area is in desperate need of more tree canopy. The City of Melville’s director responsible of our natural environment, Mr Mick McCarthy, would do well to learn and seek direction from Gavin Waugh, who is also a Melville ratepayer.     Melville’s tree canopy has, and continues to be decimated, and we need many more trees to be planted just to start the road to recovery.    Sadly, it is our view that Melville is not taking the need for protecting and growing our tree canopy as seriously as it should, they seem to move along at their own slow pace; like many local governments. The Melville community, and others, must unite to grow  public open space and tree canopy for the benefit of future generations. #treecanopy #saveourspace #saveoursuburbs #tree #ratepayers #climateaction #MRRA #WATCA #MelvilleTreeCanopyAdvocates #MCAN #MelvilleClimateActionNetwork #Ratepayers #localgovernmentreform