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Connecting Communities, Protecting Wildlife
South Warwickshire is home to an incredible variety of wildlife habitats. However, nature is now facing a critical tipping point. Human activities are placing immense pressure on wildlife and ecosystems, pushing them to the edge.
This local reality echoes the findings of the State of Nature 2023 report, which highlights a worrying trend: over the past 50 years, human impact has caused a dramatic decline in the UK’s wildlife.
There is hope – by raising public awareness and actively protecting and improving wildlife habitats, we can help nature thrive once more, ensuring that future generations can enjoy a rich and vibrant natural world.
In response, a growing network of community volunteers has come together under the name South Warwickshire Area Network for Wildlife (SWAN). Our members support each other and collaborate with individuals, local councils, schools, colleges, churches, businesses, wildlife organisations, and landowners to drive positive environmental change.
Community involvement will be vital to the success of the new Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for Warwickshire. This initiative builds on the existing Warwickshire, Coventry & Solihull Local Biodiversity Action Plan, and together, we can help shape a better future for wildlife.
Current Projects & Initiatives
Monitoring our Barn Owls
Barn owls are widely distributed across Britain but it is difficult to monitor nocturnal species and so their total numbers are unknown. However, a variety of wildlife groups send information to…
Protecting our Hedgehogs
Numbers of rural hedgehogs have declined nationally by between 30 – 75% since 2000. However, they are showing signs of recovery in urban and suburban areas.
Curlew Recovery Project
Across the UK, the population has halved in the past 25 years and they are now a ‘Red List’ species, meaning they are at urgent risk of extinction.
River Hope
River Hope is a grassroots movement based in the Stratford-on-Avon District of South Warwickshire. It brings together individuals, community groups and local organisations to reflect on their relationships with water in all its states…
Dark Skies
Light pollution is a very recent problem in historical terms and has only become seriously intrusive in the last 50 years or so. The night sky is one of the few real ‘mysteries’ remaining, and light pollution limits the ability of…
Saving our Swifts
The Swift (Apus apus) is the long-distance migrant most associated with people, as it nests among urban dwellings. In early May, Swifts return to Britain and Ireland and are celebrated as harbingers of summer.
Local Nature Action Plans
All local authorities, including Town and Parish Councils, must consider what they can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity, agree policies and objectives – and act to deliver these.
SWAN Book Notes
This SWAN page is about the power of reading to bring people closer to nature, in our increasingly virtual, disconnected, doom-scrolling world. While there is no substitute for getting out…
Join us today!
Help support nature’s recovery across South Warwickshire
Latest News
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Wellesbourne and Walton Parish Council public consultation event
On Friday and Saturday, 27th and 28th February 2026, Wellesbourne and Walton Parish Council held a public consultation event on their developing Local Nature and Climate Action plan. There is …
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Evenlode Landscape Recovery Project begins work on the ground
The Evenlode Landscape Recovery Project is ready to move from planning to delivery. This project is the first to be led by a farmer cluster.
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Community orchard pruning day at Cornmill Meadows, Shipston-on Stour
A dry February 2026 morning and a dozen volunteers turned up at Cornmill Meadows, Shipston’s wildlife site, to lightly prune and cut out suckers in the community orchard planted 2 …
Upcoming Events
The Gathering: for water and Nature
Join River Hope in and around Stratford-Upon-Avon between March 6-15, 2026, to see water differently – as a living presence that connects people, place and Nature. The programme was announced on …
March 6 - March 15Robert Macfarlane – Is a River Alive?
In a special event organised by the Stratford Literary Festival, in partnership with River Hope, the celebrated writer, academic and performer Robert Macfarlane comes to Stratford-Upon-Avon on March 6th 2026. Robert will explain …
March 6 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pmLiving with water and rivers: now and into the future
Part of River Hope’s The Gathering: For Water and Nature 6–15 March 2026, this full day event explores how we live with water, rivers and their biodiversity, now and into the …
March 13 @ 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
