Going Wild in BC

We are a three year project of Lightfoot Enterprises, created as part of our town’s Climate Action Plan.  Our main focus is to build up the town’s biodiversity for the benefit of people and wildlife.

Our remit includes running:

  • Volunteer conservation groups
  • Community Wildlife Groups (including Swifts and Moths)
  • Our Going Wild Kids Club for young people aged 9-14 every month
  • Winter talks

Who we are and what we do!

Welcome to our project page! We’re Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle or ‘Going Wild’ for short. We invite you to embrace our slightly alarming name and indeed everything else about us as we endeavour to create ‘wildlife corridors’, essentially habitat highways criss-crossing the Parish and town of Bishop’s castle, to help our pollinators, hedgehogs and amphibians navigate about. This will help us to spread nature from our more fruitful pockets to elsewhere, as well as providing a helpful insurance policy in the event of climate change and seasonal stresses.

We achieve this through the tireless work of our volunteers, trustees and supporters, who all help us to work together with land-owners and local communities to create and manage meadows, woodlands and hedgerows. We also record the fantastic wildlife on our doorstep through our local Moth Group and Swift Group, who meet monthly and seasonally (owing to the Swift’s sensible habit of disappearing over Winter). Our Going Wild Kid’s club helps us nurture younger people into discovering the natural world through play and discovery, as well as some light habitat work! If it’s nurturing you’re into, you may also be interested in our budding Wildlife Gardening group, growing plants for wildlife.

Whatever your interest, this project is for EVERYONE! In addition to everyone already mentioned, we also work with contractors and ecologists to create habitat management plans and carry out any major works that go beyond the capabilities of hand tools and will-power. All of this is fed into a ‘toolkit’ which will be made available to other local parishes and councils at the end of the project, so that our model can be replicated.

All of this simply would not be possible without the tireless work of our volunteers as well as funding provided by players of the People’s Postcode lottery and Bishop’s Castle Town Council, as well as some generous donations from private individuals.

 

Going Wild Activities

Going Wild carries out a number of activities and the diary below shows what we are doing, where we will be and when!  Please get in contact if you want to join in or just turn up on the day.

We run a number of winter talks which are also listed below and are held at Bishop’s Castle Town hall, starting at 7.30pm.

Schedule

Thursday 20th February – Coppicing at the Playing Fields

Come along to help, we will be there between 10am and 2pm.

Thursday 27th February – Hedgerow Managment at the Methodist Church

We will be there from 10am to midday.

Tuesday 4th March – Long Mynd Farm Talk in BC Town Hall at 7.30pm

Come along to hear this talk by local farmer Chris Evans

Wednesday 5th March – Going Wild Talk in Edgton Village

This talk will be delivered by Daniel Hodgkiss.

Thursday 6th March – Clearing the ground for tree planting

This will be done at the Robert Davies Field between 10am and 2pm

Thursday 13th March – Charter Oak Planting

Come and join us in the Robert Davies Field from 10am to 2pm

Thursday 20th March – Nursery tree planting

Planning to plant fruit trees in Crowgate.

Thursday 27th March – Scything

Meet up at Enterprise House between 10am and midday.

Tuesday 1st April – Non-natives in Britain: A History

This talk will be co-delivered by Daniel Hodgkiss and archaeologist Cory Koppelow.

‘GOING WILD In Bishop’s Castle’ and MMCLT:
Nature Recovery Leaflets
can be downloaded here: Nature Recovery leaflets

 

 

Restring amongst the flowers in Pam's meadow

Resting amongst the flowers in Pam’s meadow