Get the most out of your environment and learn how you can protect it too
Braunton Countryside Centre has secured funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund through their registered charity The North Devon Environmental Trust, match funded by PowerVault Ltd for their new CONNECT 2 NATURE project.
The 2-year project is working to connect people with nature in the Parish of Braunton and work towards helping to secure the financial future of the Braunton Countryside Centre.
Over the course of the two years the project will deliver several outcomes including raising awareness of the unique wildlife and habitats in Braunton which make up the core of the UNESCO designated Biosphere.
The project will also help engage our community and visitors in nature recovery and climate action as well as helping a diverse range of people access natural resources that will help to improve their health and wellbeing.
Aims of Project
The Countryside Centre’s Connect 2 Nature project has been designed to directly benefit the communities and individuals in Braunton and surrounding areas. The centre aims to offer a wide range of engaging and educational opportunities and events for the public, and other targeted groups which are regularly evaluated and improved to best support the local community.
The video below illustrates the kind of activities that we will be running. This was a bumblebee identification walk over at the Braunton Burrows.
Activities and events include natural themed craft workshops, citizen science workshops, educational wildlife talks and walks in nature, as well as our beneficial wellbeing walks, partnered with Live Well in Braunton that are aimed at anyone looking to improve their social interactions and become more active.
Project aims
- Educate people on the local environment and wildlife
- Learn about nature recovery and climate action
- Enable wellbeing through nature and the outdoors
Events will include:
- Wellbeing and educational walks
- Citizen Science workshops
- Natural craft workshops
- Nature talks and film shows
- Conservation skills
Project Coordinator
Our new project coordinator, Jess Giblett is responsible for bringing the project aims and ideas to life throughout the two years, by running lots of nature-focused events, activities and workshops aimed at reaching a wide range of audiences and communities within the Parish of Braunton, whilst also collaborating with other like-minded businesses, organisations, and individuals.
Jess has lived and grown up for the majority of her live in North Devon and knows the area well. She loves spending time out in nature, in many ways from surfing and cold water dipping to horse riding and walking. Jess has worked in serval roles within the local environment industry after finishing her Master’s in Animal Behaviour and Conservation.
After spending time working with the Northam Burrows Country Park Team and the North Devon Coast National Landscapes team, she was eager to support the Countryside Centre in her new role as Project Coordinator for the Connect 2 Nature Project and help share all the knowledge and benefits that the natural world has to offer, knowing how important her own connection to nature is to her own wellbeing.
How to get involved?
There are lots of volunteering opportunities at the Countryside Centre and we are always looking for people to help at the centre. Whether that’s manning the desk and welcoming visitors into the centre or helping at the children’s events and other activities that require extra voluntary help.
We are also always looking for guest speakers and event leaders willing to share their knowledge about all thing’s nature and environmental.
If you’d like to get involved in any way with the project, then please contact Jess via our contact form.
Project partners
We have some local and long-term organisations that help support the centre and other partnerships that have been established more recently throughout the Connect 2 Nature project.
We work together, collaborating with local organisations such as Live Well in Braunton, Plastic Free North Devon, The North Devon Biosphere, The Pickwell Foundation, North Devon National Landscapes, Devon Wildlife Trust, among others to provide some in-depth and beneficial events and services for the local community.
We are very grateful to have received this generous grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund and are pleased to be able to support the people of Braunton and help them to connect with their natural surroundings through a variety of outputs from the Countryside Centre.