Environment

This one year Heritage Lottery funded, Embrace Cooperation Ltd project that will start in October 2009 and run in partnership with environmental conservation charity Trust for Urban Ecology (TRUE).

The project will focus on traditional woodland crafts, environmental conservation, increase awareness of, and encourage participants to maintain and preserve the Dulwich Upper Wood (London) nature reserve site for future generations.  These traditional woodland crafts have been developed over many years and the local native wildlife has also adapted slowly over time. As the wildlife benefits from these practical crafts they have become part of the site management.

The following woodland crafts and environmental conservation techniques will be covered by the project: Wildlife Surveys / Walks Small Tree Felling / Coppicing Hedge Laying Dead Hedge Creation And Maintenance Traditional Wooden Fencing Glade Maintenance Wildlife Pond Maintenance Making Bird And Bat Boxes

All these techniques are traditional, sometimes ancient methods of conservation and it aims to encourage wildlife and native plants to thrive.

Project Video

A project video will be created with oral history video interviews being organised. The interviews will be about woodland conservation techniques and the site history.  With wildlife experts and local community members being interviewed by project volunteers.  Also project practical conservation events will be videoed to show the techniques involved in management of the site and woodland crafts.

Volunteering

Local community groups & schools

We would like to work closely with local community groups and schools, including developing tailor made events / sessions for community group members & school students.

Future projects

Through our environmental projects we got to know what our target groups enjoy most. We would like to see in the future and how Embrace can serve them best. Embrace is currently applying for additional projects aimed at schools to foster pupils with practical environmental education as we have seen a big demand here for our services. We also work in partnership with different community groups to mutually benefit shared target groups.

This one and a half year, Heritage Lottery Fund project looked at the wildlife and history of Streatham Common. The project involved over 150 school students and young adults from various ethnic backgrounds in practical nature conservation activities on Streatham Common.  Many of who would have been unlikely to participate in such activities without the project organizing these activities for them and with them, which was found through talking to our young participants on these activities.

The project’s activities included nature walks, nature photography sessions, picnics, video creation, graphic design and booklet creation. Through the project’s practical activities we established a database of people interested in taking part in similar future activities in the local area. With 289 people recorded as taking part in the project activities

A myspace web page has been created to promote the project (by the end of the project the site had over 6300 unique visitors and sports over 3700 friends, people who are interested in the project). Plus by using the myspace application “Green Planet” project volunteers have saved 129.8 square feet of rainforest.
Visit: http://www.myspace.com/streathamcommon

A project oral history video was created that will preserve the older generation’s memories of Streatham Common for years to come. We have uploaded video on the Internet and has been uploaded on the project website blog, YouTube, Myspace and Facebook for people to view. The video was watched over 100 times in the first day of being uploaded to the web. The video will both preserve memories and introduce Streatham Common to new users. We have given over 30 copies of the video to Lambeth History Archives, Wandsworth History Archives, local schools, local libraries, local community groups and project participants.

• The researching and recording of the video also provided an opportunity for interaction between the target age groups (young adults & older members of the local community). This interaction and dialogue made a positive and hopefully lasting impression on our young project volunteers and participants. With both groups indicating an interest in similar projects where they interact with each other.
• A project booklet called “Embrace Your Environment” was also created by a team of volunteers. The booklet team researched the history of Streatham Common, designed, wrote and edited the booklet.
• Project volunteers have gained a lot of work experience from the project and have been given a lot of responsibilities. This experience will help them in their future careers and some of our project volunteers are now helping Embrace develop new project, which they may have a role in running as a paid member of staff.
• Many new community environmental/horticultural projects are now being created directly as a result of the project. We have had a lot of interest from other community groups interested in developing environmental projects similar to this project with Embrace.