Nature in Your Neighbourhood

Nature in Your Neighbourhood (NIYN) is a Staffordshire Wildlife Trust led project, focusing on supporting communities in the Staffordshire Moorlands to improve biodiversity in green spaces where they live and monitor habitat health.

ManifoldCAN was delighted when its nominated site at Hulme End picnic area was included in the NIYN project. This is a Staffordshire Moorlands District Council managed site, usually mown very short to allow easy use for picnicking. However, local residents felt that there was enough room for both picnicking and wildlife, and as a area used by many local residents and visitors, it would be a great space to discover more about the amazing wildlife that can be found in the area.

In 2025, community members were taught plant ID and surveying skills, which helped us discover that quite a lot of wildflowers and grasses were present - they were all just very short! Then, in autumn, we were amazed to find a fantastic array of different fungi at the site!

In 2026, some areas of grass at the picnic site have been left to grow, to see if that helps increase biodiversity, while still keeping plenty of space short for picnicking and playing in. A huge thank you to SMDC for supporting these changes, agreeing to leave areas unmown throughout the summer, and moving benches to make a great space for the emerging wildflowers.

Already we are seeing some amazing results - with very lovely bee orchids popping up all over the area that has been left to grow longer, as well as red and white clovers, hawksbit, black medick, mouse-ear, yarrow, ox-eye daisy, and many more - as you can see from these photos taken in June 2026!

The project continues until 2028, with ongoing surveys throughout the year to see and record what else we find. So have a look next time you are in the Hulme End area, and if you would like to join in with the surveys or find out more about what is growing in this space, we would love you to get involved, so please get in touch.