Cobnuts Co-operative has been working on the ‘Finding Lost Nature Words’ project for over a year, collecting memories and stories from childhood experiences of nature. The stories came from different generations, some who grew up in the town and others who grew up in other countries with lions and crocodiles!
The thoughts and recordings then inspired the community pottery workshops at 4YOUth and in Brightlingsea Library. But there is a twist! All the pottery is full of holes and has been embedded into a cob wall, where it will provide shelter for solitary bees and other insects. Brightlingsea Nature Network has helped to build the nature wall and is hoping to see mason bees, leaf cutter bees, resin bees and even hairy-footed flower bees using the wall as a safe spot to make nests for their young.
The nature wall was funded by Essex Cultural Diversity Project, as a pilot to inform future ways to engage diverse communities across Essex with urban wildlife and to support the work of the Local Nature Partnership. This July sees the first anniversary of the LNP’s publication of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Essex, which has a great chapter on Urban Nature Recovery. For more information about the ‘Finding Lost Nature Words’ project visit:
