Wildflower meadows are full of colour and provide vital habitats for bees, butterflies, small animals, insects, birds and other wildlife. More of us are turning patches of our gardens into wildflower habitats and No Mow May is a popular campaign. Add in the drive over recent years for farmers to help biodiversity and wildlife by … Continue reading How annual maintenance of wildflower meadows encourages biodiversity
A big welcome to our new Environmental Project Officer and volunteers
We were pleased to welcome a new member of staff to the Steel Valley Project at the end of March this year. Emma Holdsworth joined us after completing a natural flood management project with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Her background includes working with The Conservation Volunteers, delivering environmental education, and she brings experience in land management, … Continue reading A big welcome to our new Environmental Project Officer and volunteers
The Steel Valley Project in 2020
None of us could have predicted how 2020 would pan out and, when the UK government announced a national lockdown at the end of March, we had no idea that this was going to have such a long term impact. Here at the Steel Valley Project, it meant volunteer activities being suspended, day to day … Continue reading The Steel Valley Project in 2020
Steel Valley Project Annual Report: 2019-20
2019-20 was a packed year for the Steel Valley Project team and volunteers. The year ended around the Covid-19 lockdown which unfortunately forced us to pause our operations for around 3 months. However, despite the challenges currently faced by many of us, we wanted to let you know a little bit about the difference we … Continue reading Steel Valley Project Annual Report: 2019-20
New path in Birks Wood, Oughtibridge
One of our Sheffield Lakeland Landscape Partnership projects is to improve the path surface in Birks Wood, Oughtibridge. This small, ancient woodland has an informal circular signed route for walkers to follow. However, at times, it could be very muddy and difficult for people to negotiate their way around the woods. Working with professional trail … Continue reading New path in Birks Wood, Oughtibridge
Volunteering: conservation and countryside management
Earlier this summer, the Steel Valley Project welcomed a new Environmental Project Officer, Andy Kearsey, to the team. Andy used to run his own land management business in North Devon and, also previously worked at Natural England, The RSPB, Devon Wildlife Trust and Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Through this work, he's gained lots … Continue reading Volunteering: conservation and countryside management
New ‘Pocket Park’ opened in Stocksbridge
Work has recently been completed on Cedar Road Pocket Park in Stocksbridge, creating a natural play area for children, improving the environment for wildlife and providing an outdoor area for everyone to enjoy. The £20k project was developed following a survey of people in the area, looking at how the outdoors could be improved for … Continue reading New ‘Pocket Park’ opened in Stocksbridge
Planned Steel Valley Projects for the Sheffield Lakeland Landscape Partnership
Back in October 2018, an announcement was made that the Sheffield Lakeland Landscape Partnership (SLLP) had been awarded £2.6m from funding raised by National Lottery Players for wildlife, heritage and cultural projects in north-west Sheffield. When you add match funding, in-kind contributions and volunteering from the SLLP’s partners to that figure, the total amount available … Continue reading Planned Steel Valley Projects for the Sheffield Lakeland Landscape Partnership
Fantastic response from community to help replace our stolen strimmer
When the local Stocksbridge community asked us to set up a crowdfunding appeal earlier this year to help us replace one of our stolen strimmers, we had no idea what the response would be. However, it's fair to say that we've been blown away by everyone's generosity so far. We were originally looking to raise … Continue reading Fantastic response from community to help replace our stolen strimmer
Work Experience Placement in Countryside Management
The Steel Valley Project has been supporting work experience placements from Stocksbridge High School for over 10 years now. As part of our ongoing collaboration, one of their pupils recently spent a couple of weeks working with our Environmental Project Officer, Kate Hughes, and the volunteer team. The student, currently in Year 10, spent time … Continue reading Work Experience Placement in Countryside Management