Attleborough lies on the edge of farmland about a mile from Nuneaton town centre. 

Like most towns, Nuneaton suffers from litter, and this is an issue local people feel strongly about, so a few people in Attleborough started to do their own ad hoc litter-picking. This was one of the starting points for community organising in the area, leading to the forming of the ‘Friends of Wembrook’ group, now renamed to ‘Attleborough Wildlife Watchers.’

Litter-picking activities were partly motivated by wanting to protect the wildlife in the area, as well as keeping the area tidy. The nearby Ashby and Coventry canals are a hotspot for nationally endangered water voles which have been spreading extending their range along Wem brook which leads into Attleborough. Local people also see hedgehogs regularly as well as foxes and buzzards. 

From door-knocking and listening to peoples’ stories in the area, it was felt that wildlife had declined noticeably over the years.

To protect the ever-diminishing green spaces and to try and protect the wildlife in the area, Attleborough Wildlife Watchers now litter-pick twice each month as well as doing surveys and reporting their wildlife sightings. 

To the east of the Wem Brook, there is a large housing estate built on a brownfields site which was once Sterling Metals. Some farmland and other green spaces have recently been heavily developed for housing and factories. Housing development continues at a large new site on Gypsy Lane to the west of the Wem Brook. An important issue for local people is developments like this are swallowing up the green spaces they love and are displacing the wildlife once thriving in the area. 

Another way the community are trying to protect their area is via a collaborative tree planting event.  Volunteer Co-ordinators of the Wembrook Community Centre applied for over 100 trees from the Woodland Trust to plant on land opposite the centre, to extend the footprint of Wembrook Woodland.

The Council agreed to the planting but were not able to offer any further support. This left the Community Centre with 105 trees  needing urgent planting,  but  no one to help them. 

Following a quick conversation with  Lee Copplestone, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust’s Community Organiser in the area, it was agreed he would lead the tree planting event, and the community stepped up to help. 

Instead of doing their usual litter-pick, five members of Attleborough Wildlife Watchers offered to help, along with a local Allotmenteer, the County Council Community Development Worker, and one of the volunteer Co-ordinators from the Wembrook Centre.     

As well as the tree planting, a group of staff and residents from the local care home decided to help and took part in the scheduled litter pick. So on Friday 15 November at  Wembrook Woods, there were nine people tree planting and seven others litter picking. The volunteers planted 105 trees in an hour, whilst the care home staff and residents litter-picked along the path, through the woodland. 

This community engagement event was an excellent collaboration between groups and individuals who came together as a direct result of the community organising work that previously took place.     

The  care home staff are now being encouraged to install bird feeders around the garden so they can continue to help wildlife though the winter period, and the residents can connect with nature by watching the birds use the feeders. 

Residents also took part in a Trust led activity where they created bird cake from simple household ingredients. 

In the longer term, it is hoped staff and residents will continue to make the garden more wildlife friendly as well as doing regular litter-picking with the Attleborough Wildlife Watchers.

The collaborative tree planting and litter picking event brought together several groups who worked together towards a common goal to improve the habitats in Wembrook. 

Simply put as “More Trees - Less Litter,” this event built and strengthened links between organisations and demonstrated the power of a community.