While the August Bank Holiday didn’t bring much sunshine to Greater Manchester, it did bring a vibrant crowd to Wigan for a family fun day at Low Hall Nature Reserve. There was archery, face-painting and circus skills on the meadow, pond dipping by the lake, and den building in the forest area.  

The event celebrated the completion of GROW with the FLOW: a Green Spaces Fund project run by the Friends of Low Hall Nature Reserve. 

We thought their inspiring, large-scale project would be the perfect addition to our 'Green Spaces Stories' series, so enjoy this in-depth Q&A with Joanne from the Friends group.

1. Hello Joanne! What’s the backstory of your project?
 

The Friends of Low Hall Nature Reserve (FLOW) is a small but dedicated group of volunteers. We applied to the Green Space Fund last year as we were feeling disheartened by the lack of progress and attention the reserve was getting.

Details of the fund were included in Wigan Council’s Community Team briefing, and after discussion with our link at the council and Groundwork Greater Manchester, we felt confident that we could create a project that ticked all the boxes.

It was important that we created a project that not only enhanced the biodiversity of the site but one that would also have the biggest impact for our community. 

2. What did you hope to achieve with your project? To what extent have you been able to accomplish your goals? 
 

Low Hall Nature Reserve is nestled in one of the most deprived areas in Wigan. Whilst the reserve borders several housing estates and is within easy walking distance for a large proportion of our community, the site had a clear lack of engagement. Therefore, a key aspect of our project was to get our community more involved. 

We have improved pedestrian access by installing a new gated access point in an area that was previously impassable, repaired large sections of damaged paths, and designed four new information boards to create learning opportunities for those interested in the site's history and habitats.

We have also installed a self-guided rubbing post trail and magnifying posts around our pond, woodland and meadow for mini explorers.

We have created volunteer opportunities that are open to all, forged links with other friends' groups, made friends with our local Brownies and developed a strong relationship with a group of adult volunteers called the Green Crew. We have worked together and learnt a lot with the help of Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Wigan Council and Groundwork GM. 

We have re-profiled our pond which will encourage a greater variety of pond life to thrive. This is perfect for our pond dipping sessions, the equipment for which has been funded by GMEF. 

One of the last things to finish was our new bird screen, it’s now large enough to welcome large groups and is accessible for children and those in wheelchairs. The bird screen takes centre stage and with further habitat management this will be a huge asset to the reserve for our community and our wildlife habitats.   

3. Do you have any good statistics you can share with us? 
 

We have delivered eight community volunteer days which have contributed over 250 volunteer hours to our project. We have held five community events including guided walks around the reserve and they were so well attended it was impossible to estimate how many people joined us.

We have planted 100 mixed variety trees in our woodland and 12 mixed fruit trees in our orchard. We've also created a new wildflower verge, and we have spread over 4kg of wildflower seed in other areas of the reserve. 

4. What has been the biggest impact that your project has had?  
 

Every aspect of the project has had a huge impact on the reserve. The fund has enabled us to make lasting improvements that were long overdue, not only for our wildlife habitats but for our community.

Accessing our green spaces is free but people, especially those experiencing deprivation, don’t always feel empowered or confident to visit these spaces and form new relationship with us, the community and nature.

By promoting the reserve through our community events and making these lasting improvements, we have raised the profile of Low Hall, creating a space to be proud of and space that can be enjoyed by everyone.   

5. What has been the most challenging aspect of bringing your project to life? 
 

Working alongside other organisations took some adjusting to. The council own the land, so every aspect of the project was overseen by them and all quotes for some of the specialist works were arranged and decided through their biodiversity team.

To streamline things, we arranged a meeting with the council, Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Groundwork where we were able to set out a more specific timeline and make sure everyone was on the same page.

6. In relation to your project, what are you proudest of?
 

The absolute highlight of our project has been working alongside the Green Crew. The Green Crew provide activities for adults with learning disabilities and/or mental health conditions and offer community-based experiences which are green themed.

We approached the Green Crew to help us install our rubbing post and magnifying post trail and the team were incredible. They took on the challenge and over the course of three volunteer days we created something amazing together, laughing a lot and making lasting friendships. 

7. How has the funding from the Green Spaces Fund aided your project? Would you recommend it to others? 
 

Our Green Spaces Fund project has been an incredible journey with ups and downs along the way, but what a difference we have made in such a short amount of time. We’ve created a sustainable green space, one to feel proud of and hopefully one for the community to invest in. 

With growing public support, we hope to be able to keep the momentum going and attract future funding opportunities to help the reserve go from strength to strength.

We would, and have already, encouraged other community groups to apply for Green Space Funding. 

8. What advice would you give to a group in Greater Manchester who wanted to launch their own Green Spaces Fund project?
 

Consider the funding criteria carefully when applying; make sure you’re creating a project that is varied and one that includes as many of the project aims as possible.

Keep a timeline of events, emails, contacts, volunteers/volunteer days, and use the project activity templates as a guide to ‘sticking’ to your project aims. 

Link in early with the Green Spaces Advisors as they can support you throughout your project and be that much-needed advocate if you're faced with any challenges.

Keep a photo library of things like volunteer days, community events and general progress. Before and after pictures are a great way to show the impact your project has had, and the GMEF comms team are always keen to share them on social media. 

9. How can people get involved if they’d like to know more about your project? 
 

We have an active Facebook page “Friends of Low Hall Nature Reserve Hindley" and that’s where we post all our upcoming volunteer days and events. Anyone is welcome to join.

We also have monthly meetings open to everyone on the last Thursday of the month.