Puss moth caterpillars - Photo Credit: David Parkin and family

Puss Moth - Photo credit: Pete Withers                            

All of the observations by the community have been uploaded to the Nature Counts Database run by Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust (SRWT) and this ultimately gets uploaded by SRWT to the National Biodiversity Network’s database, the NBN Atlas. This is used by ecologists and scientists across the country to inform national policy decisions about nature and the environment, and UK-wide assessments of biodiversity.


However, nature doesn’t stand still so the bio-blitz is just the start of our ambition to monitor the local biodiversity, record the number of species and keep a track of changes occurring over time. We have created a project on iNaturalist - one of the world’s most popular nature apps, which helps identify the plants and animals around you and connects you with a community of over a million scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about nature. We have a small regular group of people entering data on the app and to date we have made 762 observations and identified 316 species of flora and fauna . Again, all the data is entered on to the Nature Counts database at the end of each month.





...  they make their home where they can, they fight for it or make it, by burrowing underground, making nests in trees, in hedgerows, grassland and scrub or in water and wetlands. We’ve made it so much more difficult for them, encroaching inexorably on their wild spaces. Just look at the baby weasels below...

Jacqui Memmott took this photo in June 2020 and this is what she said, "Look at these little cuties I’ve just spotted trying to cross the road as you turn up onto the estate past the doctors. There were around 6/8 in total but these 3 got stuck trying to get up the curb. I managed to coax them up with some long grass and they shot off into the undergrowth. I hope they found their siblings (and mum!)."

The world over, we take, as a human right, what we think we need.  Yet we also imagine we share the planet with wildlife; until we ‘need’ an acre here or there, and then another, and another...  We squeeze them into ever smaller spaces – with fewer trees and hedgerows available for their protection, food, shelter and predation.

We say, construction firms must look to build on brownfield sites as required by the National Planning Policy Framework.  Such landscapes can be improved and a real biodiversity net gain achieved. New life breathed into communities, leading to the transformation of urban spaces. This could facilitate job growth and local tax. Construction companies must also take on the challenge of climate change, building only sustainable, net-zero carbon housing, fit for the future.

Sheffield Councillors too, must heed their own Declaration on the Climate Emergency they voted unanimously for in 2019. They said “that climate change…. ‘requires bold, radical action”  and “requires changes to how we all live, work and play and believes every citizen has a role to play in securing a climate safe future…’

The Council may have ‘earmarked’ Owlthorpe Fields for housing in the 1980’s, but that was before we knew we had a climate emergency. Before we understood why we really should not be cutting trees down.

On the basis of objections made at the Planning Committee meeting on June 2nd this year, Sheffield councillors made a positive first step by overwhelmingly rejecting the planning application by Avant Homes. Not one councillor voted for the application.

Avant Homes could appeal to central Government. We ask them instead, to consider the arguments of those who opposed the application and the overwhelming and democratic decision of Sheffield councillors – and leave this rare and beautifully rewilded site to the wildlife and local residents, who value and cherish it.

We ask them to consult with Sheffield Council and draw a line – reflect on climate change and the effects of the pandemic – events which affect them just as much as anybody. National Government must help too, by offering funding to help with the cost of clearing brownfield sites, rejuvenating them and bringing about a real net gain in biodiversity.

Prime Minister, Boris Johnson stated recently: “It will be the duty of every responsible government to see that our economies are revived and rebuilt in a way that will stand the test of time. That means investing in industries and infrastructure that can turn the tide on climate change.” 1

We agree, but this is not only true for national governments, but for local authorities too. Change must come quickly and on a grand scale, but should also come in small steps, on small plots, which will make a huge difference to the environment, mitigating flood risk, improving air quality, helping wildlife and the health and well-being of communities.

We believe Sheffield City Council should lead the way, working with constructors like Avant Homes to find a way forward to build on brownfield sites, achieving success by taking on the challenges of climate change and the risk of future pandemics.

1. Speech by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, April 2020, to the 11th Annual Petersburg Climate Dialogue