Wilder Together in the Stour Valley is a partnership project between Suffolk and Essex Wildlife Trusts, RSPB Flatford Wildlife Garden, Dedham Vale National Landscape & Stour Valley and the communities living in the parish and town councils in the Stour Valley.  

Working together ensures a network of wild areas are created, restored and reconnected, on both public and private land including gardens, which will not only benefit wildlife but people too.   

Since the project launched in March 2023 

• Clare, Bures, Higham, Boxford, Cornard, Haverhill have set up swift projects 
• East Bergholt, Boxted and Glemsford have set up hedgehog projects 
• Steeple Bumpstead and Cornard  have created new wildflower meadows or managed grassland for wildlife 
• Glemsford has created a wildlife area with new hedges and copse planting in their recreation ground 
• Several stag beetle pyramids have been created at schools and community sites in East Bergholt, Nayland and Langham. 

The next stage of the project is to support parish /town councils, local wildlife and environment groups, schools and churches to promote wildlife projects within their own communities in the Stour Valley. 

The National Landscape team has two Wilder Together event kits which can be loaned out to groups in the area to take to events, funded by the Dedham Vale National Landscape’s Sustainable Development Fund.   

These kits will help show what simple things can be done to attract wildlife to gardens and community open spaces. They contain: 

• a selection of wildlife homes such as a swift box, bat box, bee brick 
• examples of mini habitats such as a stag beetle pyramid and pond 
• wildlife and habitat information sheets  

Additionally, event training sessions were organised at the RSPB Flatford Wildlife Garden where the National Landscape team were able to show community volunteers what the kits contain, as well as learning about how to create and manage habitat for wildlife as they walked around the Wildlife Garden.  

More training events and activities are planned for 2025. To register your interest or for more information, visit dedhamvale-NL.org.uk/wildertogether or email Emma Black, Countryside Projects Officer, at emma.black@suffolkandessex-nl.org.uk.