Chester Zoo’s Networks for Nature is a large conservation project designed to restore habitats, connect landscapes, and bring communities closer to wildlife across a 60-square-mile area from Ellesmere Port to Chester. Building on the earlier Nature Recovery Corridor, the project aims to restore over 100 hectares of land, create new ponds, plant thousands of metres of hedgerows, and reconnect habitats so species can thrive.

Alongside habitat work, it supports schools to improve their grounds for nature, offers training and volunteering opportunities, and builds a network of “Wildlife Champions” to care for local spaces. By working with landowners, councils, trusts, and community groups, Networks for Nature seeks to create lasting, positive change for both wildlife and people, helping more communities access green spaces, improve wellbeing, and take action for the environment.

​Stamford Street Allotment Society has two Wildlife Champions who are have started the grounds work on turning a perfectly manicured fruit orchard into a wildlife meadow to encourage the UK’s pollinators. Previous projects include creating a dead hedge to provide hiding spaces for our resident hedgehogs.