This is a three-year project with the following aims:

1. To consult whereby people can input to decisions about what is done with greenspaces near to them.
2. To create new ways to engage people who have previously not had an interest in the environment, such as through using photography, film and other media, and fun leisure activities such as night walks and bug hunts.
3. To involve in the hands-on management of the space by doing practical conservation volunteering.
4. To provide opportunities for volunteers to access accredited and non-accredited training in both conservation and media subjects.

People involved in the project will be introduced to the beautiful areas in and around Ipswich that Greenways and their volunteers already care for, as well as working to improve some of the small, neglected green spaces in other areas.

Whilst not targeting specific communities, the project is working geographically on Greenways greenspaces in areas that contain many of the Natural England target groups, in order to help meet their outcomes, e.g. areas that are on the Index of Multiple Deprivation, areas with higher proportions of BME residents and in further engaging people with disabilities. The main sites the project is focussing on are Alderman Canal and River Gipping, Stoke Park, Belstead Brook, Triangle Estate. They will also aim to work in Whitton and have flexibility to work in up to 3 other areas if suitable ones are identified in the future.

The ultimate aim is that by the end of the project they will have created a legacy of motivated people across communities who realise the value of their local natural environment and have the tools and training to continue caring for it. Since the start of the project they have run numerous events and activities, and participated in many more with partners, from River Cleanup day to half-term family fun days, photography walks to Vegetable Olympics, boardwalk building to Festive Crafts. The project has engaged over 400 people, a number of whom have now become regular volunteers. In the coming year they are looking to build on the success of these events with more of the same, plus an increased focus on training, moving people into conservation volunteering, and improving their diversity.