Guardians of Nature
“Together we Grow”
We are the proud Winners of the BBC Radio Lancashire Make a Difference Awards 2024!
Welcome to our website! We are a registered not for profit community interest company, who are dedicated to positive mental health and creating lasting friendships through our nature based activities within Penwortham and throughout South Ribble. Our Volunteers are committed to working together to support each other and preserve our green spaces. We are passionate about making a positive impact to our environment and we promote sustainability and a true sense of community – “Together we Grow”
We believe that the time to take action is now, and we are eager to make a difference. Our website is the perfect platform to share our experiences and inspire others to join us in our mission. Here, you can stay up to date on our latest projects, events, and initiatives. You can also learn more about our team and how you can get involved.
Whether you are an experienced environmentalist or someone who is just starting to explore the world of sustainability, we welcome you to our community. Let’s work together to make a difference and grow a greener future for South Ribble!
We celebrate neuro diversity and welcome people who are challenged by everything from anxiety, PTSD, greif and even loneliness. We offer a safe space to all to use nature to heal, educate and make lasting friendships whether young or old and families are always welcome.
Become a Guardians of Nature Volunteer
Guardians of Nature feel our Volunteers are the key to our success!! Our mantra is ‘Together we grow!’ Therefore, your needs are at the heart of what we do.
We value our volunteers and are excited to be part of their journey into improving mental health, making friends, and building a better future for both themselves, our community, and our planet.
We use nature to heal and grow strength and we are fully invested in the future of all those who join us. All our Guardians started as volunteers …… Our participants have a choice to go through our ‘volunteer pathway’. There are 4 achievement points to support your goals. You can move through the pathway at your own pace and when you feel confident to do so, or not at all, it’s all up to you.
This is a journey that will help you gain self-esteem, friendship, and a sense of purpose whilst learning about nature, planting, woodland management, carpentry, landscaping, gardening, produce, conservation, mental health, and community support activities. We also offer some accredited courses when you feel you are ready, there is never any pressure.
We are a very relaxed team and we are more than happy to have you with us enjoying the outdoors with our team, you can do as much or as little as you like.
Donate to Guardians of Nature
I’m hoping you’ll consider supporting the good work Guardians of Nature – CIC does by donating or sharing with others who’d like to help.
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors.. We borrow it from our children”
Our Recent Projects
Alderfield Allotment
We are currently based at Alderfield, Penwortham. Our team of volunteers have worked together to regenerate this disused allotment to return to the community. We are supporting the residents and local youth on the estate through ‘community education’ giving them an understanding of where produce comes from and how to plant and grow their own food through the allotment. We love getting our hands dirty and are creating a true sense of community spirit through nature.
- Growing produce
- Planting
- Land maintenance (weeding, general caretaking)
- Growing seedlings
- Community engagement through teaching
- Supporting each other and creating friendships
- Supporting people with physical and mental health challenges to regain control of their garden spaces
- Plant sharing
- Litter picking walks
- Woodworking
- Nature based crafting
Waste Warriors
We are a busy team! Guardians of Nature have 2 teams of both Youth and Adults, who meet up regularly to clean up our streets and green spaces in our local area. We pick up our litter pickers and loops and transform into ‘The Waste Warrior’s and ‘The Mini Waste Warriors!!’ This is a great opportunity to meet our team and get out in the fresh air whilst doing something positive to help our wildlife and our community.
Waste Warriors meet at Alderfield Allottment – check our Facebook page for details of our next meet up.
Mini Waste Warriors
We believe that the key to supporting our environment and changing bad habits is education and example. So.. when one of the children on our estate, Lexi, asked if we could start a litter pick for the kids … Well, that’s exactly what we did! So our team went out to our local play area and invited the children to get involved in a litter pick with our team. We had such an amazing response from the local children that our team decided to make it a regular event……and ‘The Mini Waste Warriors’ was born!
This is a time dedicated to the local children for fun and to educate them about how to keep our green spaces tidy and litter free, along with explaining the dangers dumping and tipping can cause to local wildlife. We all enjoy the afternoon winding down from a long day at school, whilst identifying local plants and little critters we see along the way.
The youths are often so excited and enthusiastic to see us and support the environment that they come running out from across the estate in their droves to help out! (we feel like we are the ice cream van hehe) We are so proud of them and always look forward to the next event.
Mini Waste Warriors Warriors meet every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at the Alderfield play area at 3:30 pm leaving at 4pm, finishing at 5pm. Parents/guardians are encouraged to join but not essential. Please check our Facebook page before turning up, in case of poor weather!
If you would like to involve your child in our litter pick please click the link below and fill out our short registration form. Please take the time to explain to your child our ‘Litter picks Risk management form (found in the documents section above) Although, we do go over it again on the day during our induction before we head off.
White Ribbon Garden – Kingsfold, Penwortham
Guardians of Nature are proud to maintain our local ‘White Ribbon Garden’ at Kingsfold, supported by South Ribble Council and Championed by Progress Housing Groups womens refuge, run by Key unlocking futures. The garden is an area of reflection and supports the aims of the ‘White Ribbion Charity’ which was created by a group of men who recognised the way to change mens behaviours needed to be championed by men. Their symbol is a white ribbon which is brought into the garden and encompassed with white flowers, trees and shrubs. They strive to change long-established attitudes, behaviours and systems around masculinity that perpetuate gender inequality and men’s violence against women.
White Ribbon UK’s work is preventative, they want to end violence before it starts. They offer a pledge to make sure all men realise that they can take responsibility for thinking about their own actions, promote equality and respect, and are prepared to call out harassing, sexist and violent behaviour when they see it in others. We stand by that pledge and are honoured to be able to support the gardens and the White Ribbon pledge it represents. To find out more about the White Ribbon Charity and how you can make a pledge to end violence against women and girls please click the link below
Guardians of Green Croft Valley – Penwortham
Guardians of Nature holds a special link to Green Croft Valley, the home of our ‘wishing tree’, therefore we were truly moved to have been trusted to care for the area by South Ribble Borough Council. The story behind how our project first began started with one welcoming wise oak tree in this ancient little valley shrouded in history. This area has been a walkthrough for centuries for the locals of Penwortham. Our team of volunteers care for the area and use our allotment and greenhouses to grow plants and wildflowers to maintain the woodlands, support the local wildlife, and as an area of reflection. We do frequent litter picks to care for the area with our mini waste warriors.
We use the area to educate our volunteers and the community about our local wildlife and how to best protect it. We build bird/bat boxes, wildlife piles, and welcome local groups to come and use the area to teach and as an area of reflection. If you have an interest in woodland this a place for you! Read HERE the story behind Guardians of Nature and why this woodland is so magical to us. We have also shared a link to the of Lorna Smithers who was the lead for the previous caretakers of the area ‘The Friends of Green Croft Valley’ and has now joined our team to create the ‘ Guardians of Green Croft Valley. FRIENDS OF GREEN CROFT VALLEY WEBSITE
Our Upcoming Projects
The Pumpkin Patch – Kingsfold, Penwortham
Guardians of Nature have been given the opportunity to regenerate a once-loved allotment plot and orchard in Kingsfold, Penwortham. We are excited to be offered to rejuvenate this area by South Ribble Council along with the support of the team at Progress Housing Group and look forward to working alongside them to restore this area back into a community allotment for the people of South Ribble. The pumpkin patch still has a fruitful area of various plum apple and cherry trees, which we hope to restore to their former glory. Our plan is to look towards putting in a polytunnel, raised beds, and a wildlife area. Along with a small area for seating and having lunch and fun crafting days…. and of course, there will be pumpkins!
We are working hard to gain funding and a bigger team of volunteers to make this area the thriving hub it once was and create an area the community come together and be proud of.
Woodland Nursery, Alderfield, Penwortham
We are in the process of finalizing agreements with ‘Your Housing Group’ to turn the old MUGA at Alderfield into an area for polytunnels and an education hub.
We are working towards gaining funding and support to restore the area. This will support vulnerable people in the local community to be able to help them get out, combat loneliness and be more involved in our local events.
Green Croft Valley, is situated around this area and will provide a great opportunity to offer woodland education, local walks, and planting within the area. It will create opportunities for people enthusiastic about the environment, from young adults, the elderly, parents, and our local schools and resident children to come together and learn about wildlife, planting, and caring for the local woodlands.
Special thanks to Starbucks for for help sponsoring our new polytunnels in 2024.
Our overall goal, especially in these desperate times is to be ‘Guardians of Nature’ for our community and our beautiful Planet. Are you with us!?
We’d like to thank our supporters so far…
- Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
- Let’s Grow Preston
- Progress Housing Group
- Your Housing Group
- Lancashire Wildlife Trust
- Brinscall Hall (Chorley)
- Outdoors for All
- Mind Mental health
- My Place (Brockholes)
- Lancashire County Council
- South Ribble Council, Climate Crisis team
- Lancashire Police Constabulary & Designing out crime team
- Selnet
- Kingsfold community Centre
- Nelson and Colne College
- Co-op (Pope lane, Penwortham)
- Penwortham in Bloom
- Plants + (sow & grow)
- South Ribble Council
- Newgate Nurseries
- Starbucks
W Webdesign & Hosting, who without their amazing talent and support this Web page would not have been possible.
...and last but certainly not least, a HUGE THANK YOU to all of our volunteers and members of the community, the children of Alderfield Estate (past and present), who together have worked side by side to support our Earth and each other.
“Together We Grow!”
