Susan extended a royal thank you to local community groups for their environmental work, thanking volunteers and recognising the hard work they put into their projects as they continue to make a positive difference to both people and wildlife in their communities. 

Susan said: "I have had the most wonderful two days, visiting some of the community schemes supported by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. Everywhere I went I was impressed by how many people give so much of their time to help nature in their particular patch and enjoy doing it."

There are many ways local groups are working together to bring wildlife back to their area. Some focus their efforts on a  species or habitat. In Leamington Spa, the Spa Swifts group have been encouraging their neighbours to put swift boxes up on their homes, creating nests for the swifts which revisit their area every summer. 

Attleborough Wildlife Watchers are a group of residents in Nuneaton who have come together to make more space for nature. When Susan visited their group, they were surveying the Wem brook to record which species are surviving and which are thriving. Susan had a go at taking a sample, dressed in her High Sheriff uniform, and impressed the group by recording a number of bullhead fish! 

Susan recalled: "We did a ‘Kick Survey’ in Wem Brook; I hope the three fish I got into the net were not put there on purpose to make the High Sheriff feel even more special!"

Other groups focus their efforts on sustainable food production. The benefits of these include feeding local people, improving soil quality and providing volunteering opportunities. The Five-Acre Community Farm in Rugby is a brilliant example of an organic farm, and Susan was incredibly supportive of their work, connecting people to the origins of their food.

Similarly, the Ansley Common Allotment Society are not only producing delicious fruit and vegetables but have also dedicated areas of the allotment to wildlife, sharing their space with everything from frogs to red kites. 

Susan said: "A pond in a wild corner that the Trust helped create has led to an increase in biodiversity, witnessed by the frogs in the water tank."

As part of Susan’s tour, she also visited groups improving their local area for the people living there. The Secret Garden at the Brunswick Community Hub in Leamington Spa was an initiative started by residents who wanted a peaceful green space in a built-up environment. It’s now a much-loved community resource. 

Piccadily Community Centre near Tamworth received Green Shoots funding, which residents are using to create a wildlife garden on the edge of the recreation ground. Local people, from teenagers to pensioners, are already making the most of this area. The Preston Environmental Group and Wild About Clifford are both encouraging villagers to garden for wildlife, creating more habitat and encouraging local wildlife into their gardens. 

Susan commented: "We visited Piccadilly, a former pit village, where trees are now being planted and community amenities enhanced. Very pertinently for my role as High Sheriff, as well as volunteers working on the inspirational Five Acre Community Farm, people supervised by the Probation Service are also finding useful ways to contribute to society. Swifts (my favourite bird) and hedgehogs (via a project based in the Brunswick Secret garden) are being helped in Leamington. In peaceful Preston on Stour and Clifford Chambers, there are groups of gardeners getting together and doing their best to help biodiversity in a rural setting."

The role of High Sheriff dates back to Saxon times and is one of just two royal appointments in each county, representing the King. The High Sheriff is in a unique position to be able to bring people together within the county and to support the enormous contribution made by the emergency services, the armed forces, local authorities, church and faith groups and the voluntary community.