In Our Nature at the Wild Exhibition
In Our Nature is a programme collaborating with residents, groups and businesses across Manchester to share practical actions we can all take to create a healthier and greener city where everyone can thrive.
Whilst we can’t solve climate change on our own, together we can make a huge difference! That’s why we’ve brought together lots of the projects and people we’ve worked with as part of our new display at Manchester Museum’s Wild Exhibition, sharing stories, photos and media about the amazing work that’s happening in our communities.
Scroll down to learn more about each of the projects we’ve featured and the people involved, read their stories and explore related resources that you can use to take action at home and in our community!
Fancy checking out the Wild Exhibition in person? Head here to book a free ticket!
Meet the projects from our Wild Exhibition Display!
Cloudy Alley
This alleyway garden was started off by Yaz who was tired of her alley being filled with fly tipping and wanted to create a relaxing space for her and her neighbours to unwind in nature. Now the space is full of plants, flowers and veggies, including bathtub planters, pop-up greenhouses full of tomato plants and mini herb gardens.
FungALL
Norton from FungALL is on a mission to empower communities across Manchester with some help from an unexpected source – mushrooms! Fungall work to create urban farm spaces, helping people to grow their own mushrooms at home and turn local waste into nutritious meals. In Our Nature helped Fungall to run workshops and expand their arsenal of mushroom growing kits through our Community Support initiative in 2024.
Want to see Norton growing mushrooms at home? Dig into the magical world of mycelium here.
Bike It Walk It
Naz started the Bike It Walk It group to get local women cycling in Cheetham Hill. She began running cycling lessons for complete beginners in Heaton Park, using the park’s quiet paths to build confidence without worrying about road traffic. After only a few weeks, the group began to flourish, and their cycling skills came on in leaps and bounds!
Interested in cycling? Check out our guide to help you get pedalling.
Claremont Alleyway
Meet Paula and Jane. They took it upon themselves to give their alleyway some much needed TLC. What was once a neglected cut-through has now been transformed into a vibrant growing space equipped with a colourful community mural. In Our Nature supported Paula and Jane to host consultations with residents to help spark ideas for what to do with their alleyway, and after visiting some other alleyway projects for inspiration, they knuckled down creating homemade planters and held a celebration event to get locals involved.
Wythenshawe Water Ambassadors
We’ve been working with young people in Wythenshawe to save water, protect fishing habitats and create sustainable waterways. Led by Groundwork’s John Swallow, the group have also been giving away bog monsters, which people can put in their toilets to displace water and reduce the amount of water that’s wasted when you flush.
Thanks to the improvements made to nature sites and the distribution of Bog Monsters around Wythenshawe, the project is predicted to save 108,708 liters of water over the next five years.
Walking Mum’s Club
These mums, parents and carers are on a mission to lower keep active and lower carbon emissions. Through their walking group, they’ve started learning more about environmental practices, and thanks to some support from In Our Nature, they were able to create and share some low carbon weaning recipes for other parents with little ones!
Head here to learn more and discover all of our community support projects.
SNUG (Sustainable Northmoor Urban Greening)
Over the past year, SNUG has transformed Crowcroft Park into a thriving community garden and orchard. The group is led by Claire Biggs and supported by a host of volunteers, who recently worked with In Our Nature to deliver a series of workshops and spread the word about the group to get more locals involved.
Check out our video of SNUG in action!
Wai Yin Welcome Centre
The Wai Yin Welcome Centre is a cultural hub in Cheetham Hill which offers a safe, dynamic space for residents to explore new skills and make friends. Partnering with Stitched Up, we ran sewing workshops for local people who wanted to learn how to mend, adapt and create their own clothing items. Over a few weeks, our group started tailoring their own clothes, mending items they didn’t want to part with and making some thrifty accessories.
Find out more about the project and learn how to jazz up your own wardrobe by clicking here!
Sir Robert Thomas Court
At this local estate in Harpurhey we’ve been working with community members to bring nature closer to home. Thanks to the expertise of the Groundwork team and the help of some trusty volunteers, the garden space at Sir Robert Thomas Court has been transformed to include raised planters and beds where residents can grow seasonal food and experiment with different plants, right on their doorstep.
Future Directions
Future Directions, with a little help from our Community Support initiative, have been helping people with learning disabilities to save energy at home through a series of arts and crafts workshops, competitions and home visits. The group have been hard at work creating guides to help others save money, energy, and making sustainable practices more accessible to the disabled community.
Chorlton Park Repair Café
If it’s broke, fix it! Through a collaboration with Stitched Up, we launched a new Repair Café in Chorlton Park, inviting people to bring along their broken items and have them fixed up for free by a team of skilled volunteers. We’ve seen all sorts come through the door; from hedge trimmers to old radios, laptops, bicycles, hoovers and even a Christmas tree! Thanks to the dedication of these volunteers the project has saved lots of valued and easily fixed items from ending up in the bin.
Repair Café’s are brilliant initiatives, and they’re dotted all over the world. Check out our Repair Café blog to find out more about this one and others across Manchester.
