The Come Forth for Wildlife project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and a range of co-funders, is now in it’s third year!
Come Forth for Wildlife is working throughout the Forth Valley (Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire) to develop connections to conserve and enhance the unique heritage the area offers. This is being achieved by creating inter-connected habitats for amphibians, reptiles and other wildlife. The project enables all sectors of the community to develop connections with the natural heritage of the Forth Valley region through the activities we are delivering and have planned.
If you want to Come Forth for Wildlife then become a Garden Guardian! Pick up your free copy at an activity / session, see our online copy or request a free copy posted to you by emailing info@froglife.org with a postal address. Complete four challenges in the booklet to receive your free garden plaque and become a GARDEN GUARDIAN for your area!
Following the success of our ‘Dragons in your Garden’ workshops across Scotland – our wildlife gardening workshops will enhance and continue this format. Offering therapeutic gardens, allotments and community gardens workshops to share skills on wildlife gardening and create wildlife-friendly features at the gardens / allotments themselves. These interactive workshops will have an amphibian and reptile focus – while we will be running regular sessions with adults with physical / learning difficulties at therapeutic garden centres. See the latest news on these workshops here.
Pop-up Wildlife Gardening Workshops
Many of us have gardens or local greenspaces that we could make more wildlife friendly and our pop-up workshops aim to engage with people from all walks of life offering tips, skills and techniques to create wildlife-friendly gardens. These pop-up workshops will take place in busy centres throughout the Forth Valley so anyone can join in with activities in whatever time they have available – learning what they can do to help their local wildlife.
Neighbourhood Wildlife Corridors
Our gardens make up a valuable resource for wildlife, even more so as many wild areas and green spaces are lost to factors such as development. Wildlife-friendly gardens can provide vital habitat links for our species especially if they connect to country parks and nature reserves. Our neighbourhood wildlife corridors will engage neighbourhoods in Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire – supporting local residents in creating wildlife-friendly gardens and green spaces close to them. Come Forth for Wildlife’s activities will be running throughout these neighbourhoods and you will be able to pick up the Neighbourhood Wildlife Corridors booklet and learn how to become a Garden Guardian! See the latest here.
Froglife has also recently launched our Wildlife Pond Visualiser App, helping your garden become more wildlife friendly! Click here for more information!
Our Mapestry activity is now complete! We have worked with communities across the Forth Valley to create a map tapestry depicting the heritage of the Forth Valley. 12 groups / venues have created their visions and images of heritage in the Forth Valley – wildlife, local landscapes and attractions which are important to them. The Mapestry is currently being finalised but once completed will go on a two year tour – being on display in 17 venues across Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire. See the latest here.
With the Mapestry artwork completed you can see the latest on the Mapestry Tour throughout 2021 – 2023 here!
Free training courses will be held throughout the region to focus on two topics; amphibian and reptile survey methods & ecology and habitat management for reptiles and amphibians. These courses will offer in-depth knowledge and techniques on each topic – featuring theoretical and practical elements. By sharing these skills with landowners, site managers and grounds maintenance staff we can increase knowledge of our amphibians and reptiles and how to manage habitat for their benefit. To see more click here.
Our new pond doctor stalls have been developed from experience and feedback from numerous events – where we have identified that our staff’s knowledge of pond creation and maintenance is sought after by the public attending events throughout Scotland. With this in mind our pond doctor stalls will be set-up at busy events throughout the Forth Valley to expertise on pond creation and management with staff on hand to answer specific questions anyone may have about ponds. See the latest news on the Pond Doctor here.
An exciting, novel activity new to Froglife are our virtual reality exhibitions. These allow people the chance to experience the dangers of road crossings through the eyes of a toad and find out more about wildlife tunnels. We will visit busy events with our virtual reality exhibition which will ask the question When Will Wildlife Get The Green Light? See our events page for the latest Virtual Reality Experience: https://www.froglife.org/what-we-do/events/
The Come Forth for Wildlife project will focus on large-scale habitat creation and restoration works within the Forth Valley for the benefit of amphibians, reptiles and a wealth of other wildlife. As the project is focussed on a particular region, it allows these habitats to be created with connectivity in mind – allowing wildlife to move between green corridors and counter-act the effects of habitat fragmentation identified as causing declines in some of our common species.
See all of the Come Forth for Wildlife sites here.
There will be lots of opportunities for volunteers to be involved in the practical works – to learn practical techniques and create a lasting legacy of the project throughout the region. You can see upcoming volunteer sessions to come along to on the events page or email rosie.walker@froglife.org to join our volunteer mailing list.
The Come Forth for Wildlife project will offer two 12 month paid traineeships – trainees will be involved in all aspects of the project, learning many skills in the workplace sure to aid them in their future conservation careers.
If you would like to learn more about Come Forth for Wildlife please contact James (james.stead@froglife.org / 07972 593603).
Come Forth for Wildlife is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we are able to deliver habitat works and public engagement activities across the Forth Valley in Scotland in order to conserve and enhance the unique heritage of this area.
Come Forth for Wildlife is supported by the NatureScot Biodiversity Challenge Fund.
Additional funding for Come Forth for Wildlife project activities is kindly provided by:
- Clackmannanshire and Stirling Environment Trust
- South West Environmental Action Trust
- Avondale Environmental (part of the NPL Group), through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund
- The Alexander Moncur Trust
- The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
- Blodwen Lloyd Binns Bequest Fund
- William Dean Countryside and Educational Trust
- Hugh Fraser Foundation
