Stamford Street Allotment Society has recently been awarded a Level 4 (“Thriving”) in the RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood scheme, in recognition of its work on the Community & Sensory Garden project.
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The award reflects several achievements: the building of accessible raised beds, shared planting and communal garden spaces, educational areas for schools and community groups, and strong volunteer support in partnership with The Conservation Volunteers (TCV).
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In the It’s Your Neighbourhood framework, Level 4 indicates that a group is doing well in all the key areas of community participation, gardening achievement, and environmental responsibility — it means the work is mature, impactful, well-maintained, and the group is engaging meaningfully with its community.
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.
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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.
Ellesmere Port in Bloom is a community group and initiative in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire West & Chester, focused on improving the town’s appearance through horticulture, environmental care, and community involvement.
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Stamford Street Allotment Society has been working with Ellesmere Port In Bloom to create a tool library which is available for use by local community groups who want to do a spot of gardening but need to hire tools.