Welcome to Nature Chain

We are a community-led wildlife and conservation initiative connecting people and nature across Limpley Stoke and Freshford. By linking gardens, community spaces, and local landscapes, we seek to create vital corridors where wildlife can move, adapt, and thrive.

As we grow, our hands-on conservation work continues to expand across our unique valley landscape. Our core initiatives now include:

• Summerground Nature Reserve: We are incredibly proud to have helped establish Summerground, our very first dedicated community nature reserve, providing a permanent sanctuary for local biodiversity.

• The Meadows Project: Our dedicated meadows sub-group works in partnership with the Cotswold National Landscape team to restore and manage local grasslands, optimising them for native wildflowers and diverse wildlife.

• Riparian Buffer Planning: Recognising the vital importance of our waterways, we are actively developing a strategic plan for riparian buffers along the river to protect water quality, reduce erosion, and create thriving riverside habitats.

• Tree propagation: Our newest project brings local children together with the group to collect seed from local trees and grow them on. Trees raised from local seed are better adapted to our valley's soils and conditions, and will help us restore and connect habitat for years to come.

Whether you have a large acreage, a garden, a window box, or simply a passion for the local environment, there is a place for you in the chain. Join us in protecting and restoring our beautiful shared landscape.

Latest News!

Summerground - Our new community owned Nature Reserve

Through the generocity of a few local residents, FLiSCA (the local charity that owns the Galleries shop and café) has been able to purchase a piece of land, called Summerground, along Crowe Hill. The land will be a community nature reserve for Limpley Stoke and Freshford and incorporates a meadow and some woodland, and will be managed for nature with help from Nature Chain.

Wildlife recorded on our Summerground camera traps

Watch this space for more updates . .

Get involved

The group are inviting members of the communities of Freshford and Limpley Stoke to join Nature Chain. All are welcome with anything from a window box to local landowners with many acres.

For more information on what we do, please click on the tabs at the top of the page.

Please subscribe to our mailing list to receive ideas, hints & tips on how to increase biodiversity in your garden. We also publish articles and hold regular talks.

Setting up a Nature Chain in other villages

If you are from another village and wish to repeat Nature Chain locally, please feel free to use our information.