Introducing the S20 Wildlife Corridor – Summary Paper An alternative proposal for Owlthorpe fields: Towards a heathier South East

Owlthorpe Fields Action Group & Dr Patrick Harrison (Department of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Hull)

Summary

This document presents a summary of the vision for a wildlife corridor in South East Sheffield for the health and wellbeing of the communities in the , and wards by joining up local wildlife sites and, importantly, incorporating Owlthorpe Fields which has been rewilding for 20+ years.

Aims and Outcomes

The aim of the S20 wildlife corridor is to link up and enhance sites of ecological interest forming a 2-mile long wildlife corridor within the Beighton & Mosborough wards of South East Sheffield. We believe the incorporation of Owlthorpe Fields (including the existing Local Wildlife Sites) into the wildlife corridor and linking it to Westfield Plantation, Waterthorpe Park, Waterthorpe Meadows and Beighton Ponds (Fig. 1), is a far more positive vision than the destruction of this ecologically rich, rewilded location for housing, especially considering the area already has substantial housing with its associated congestion. By taking an interdisciplinary approach and linking ecology, community health and school attainment together, we believe we can have a positive impact on the lives of local people. The wildlife corridor has four aims: 1. To become a space for the benefit of the local community, on their doorstep, where people can engage with nature and which can provide relaxation and exercise to benefit both physical and mental health; 2. At the local level, enhance and link several wildlife habitats such as meadows and wetlands to increase the biodiversity of flora and fauna in the area; 3. Work with local schools, the Sheffield & Wildlife Trust (SRWT), along with our regional Universities to develop outdoor classrooms for local schools in all aspects and at every level of the curriculum; 4. Work with Sheffield City Councils (SCC) social prescribing ‘People Keeping Well’ network and SRWT to develop nature prescriptions to improve the health of the local community. By meeting these aims, we believe the following seven outcomes can be realised: 1. Increased school attainment (Aim 3) 2. A positive change in child physical health (Aim 1, 3) 3. A positive change in child mental health (Aim 1, 3) 4. Increased local cohesion / participation in community schemes (Aim 2, 4) 5. A positive change in wider community mental health (Aim 1, 4) 6. A positive change in wider community physical health (Aim 1, 4) 7. Increased biodiversity in the area (Aim 2)

Figure 1: Promotional poster emphasising the areas to be linked together to form the S20 wildlife corridor with a selection of interventions that could be made to enhance each area and provide better linkage Evidence for Nature-Based Health and Education Interventions

As many will attest, the Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of engaging with the natural world for our physical health, mental health and wellbeing. Analysis has shown that increased exposure to greenspace was associated with a decrease in a number of medical conditions in adults including the stress hormone cortisol, blood pressure and type II diabetes. A number of other studies suggest that projects like the S20 wildlife corridor, developed essentially on peoples’ doorsteps, would allow short, regular visits to nature and be very beneficial in reducing stress and anxiety at the community level. For children, a 2011 UNICEF report on child wellbeing showed that being outdoors listed in the top three things that make children happy. There is evidence supporting the concept that being in nature decreases symptoms of inattention in children and that access to nature provides a buffer to the psychological stress of major life events with this effect more prominent in disadvantaged children. As the 2019 indices of multiple deprivation data (IMD) show, several areas along the proposed corridor rank within the bottom 30% in ; we believe the S20 wildlife corridor has real potential to have a positive effect on child mental health. Importantly, there is also clear evidence of increased school achievement with increasing engagement with the natural world, particularly in the outdoor classroom setting as summarised in Natural England’s 2016 report entitled ‘Links between natural environments and learning’: “Spending time in the natural environment as a resident or a visitor – improves our mental health and feelings of wellbeing. It can reduce stress, fatigue, anxiety and depression. It can help boost immune systems, encourage physical activity and may reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as asthma. It can combat loneliness and bind communities together”. “Playing and learning outside is a fundamental part of childhood, and helps children grow up healthy. Some children are lucky enough to have a family garden; others not, and it is important that we find other ways to give them better access to the great outdoors. We know that regular contact with green spaces, such as the local park, lake, or playground, can have a beneficial impact on children’s physical and mental health.”

Health and Education Statistics for Communities Surrounding the Proposed S20 Wildlife Corridor

The health and education statistics from the wards surrounding the S20 corridor show this initiative could have a real benefit to our communities. Some areas along the proposed corridor rank within the bottom 30% in England in terms of multiple deprivation indicators, with some in the top 10%. As deprivation is a key determinant in our health and wellbeing, it is unsurprising that these areas are suffering with a large percentage of people in poor health and a reduced life expectancy when compared to other . Healthier communities would mean less intervention by the healthcare sector and the Local Authority which could lead to significant financial savings. Unfortunately, it is not just the life expectancy and health of the surrounding population that is suffering. Areas along the corridor (Waterthorpe for example) are in the bottom 20% for education, skills and training. Similarly, data for the Mosborough ward shows a statistically significant worse outcome for GCSE Achievement (5A*-C including Maths and English) compared to the national average. As lower levels of education and training lead to higher levels of deprivation in future years, there is also a clear need to develop education-based initiatives than can mitigate and improve this downward cycle. We accept that the wildlife corridor will not provide a silver bullet to healthcare inequalities in SE Sheffield, however we do believe that by acting upon the multiple determinants of health (exercise, education and air quality through active travel routes to anchor institutions and increased planting) the corridor will play an important role in mitigating healthcare inequalities in the area. S20 Wildlife Corridor: What We Would Like to See Ecological Changes

Primarily, the proposal will require the five ecologically distinct areas to be preserved with the largest of these individual sites, Owlthorpe Fields, to be saved from development by (SCC). Full professional ecological assessments will be required and the results from this combined with existing data held by the Wildlife Trust and SCC. Both Owlthorpe Fields Action Group and Friends of Waterthorpe Park have been invited to join the National Lottery funded D4N which will use the Adaptive Ecological Monitoring Framework (AEMF) along with local people to gather ecological and biodiversity information. Once each area has been assessed, by engaging with SCC ecologists, SRWT along with specialist experts in our regional universities, we can enhance the biodiversity of these areas by undertaking site specific interventions. These would include for example, introducing wetlands, meadows, native hedging or managing land differently, such as coppicing woodland. The changes in biodiversity and species numbers will be monitored continuously by the SRWT, the D4N project along with iNaturalist that individual groups (Owlthorpe Fields Action Group and Friends of Waterthorpe Park) have already set-up. These community-based citizen science projects will also feed into the health aims of the corridor in terms of developing social / nature prescriptions. Internet-linked camera traps could be placed around the sites to monitor the frequency of small mammal visits, which would be available to view online by the wider community and which would also be streamed to local schools to use as a learning resource in the classroom. There is also an opportunity to develop an ‘outdoor lab’ for Undergraduate / Masters level project students (ecology, health, education) with local universities (Sheffield Hallam University, and University of Hull). Dr Harrison would connect our communities to these local higher education institutions.

Education Focused Aims Along with SRWT, Dr Harrison and Friends of Waterthorpe Park (FoWP) are already working with two adjoined local schools, Waterthorpe Infants and Emmanuel Juniors, who are within close proximity to the Waterthorpe Park site (500m).

Dr Harrison and FoWP are currently writing a proposal for a Grant from Biffa, to develop an outdoor classroom whereby the children can explore the park and its developing and varied natural ecology (woodland, meadows, wetlands) along with a living willow reading room & weaving loom for expressive play and learning. The project is in conjunction with SRWT with training to being provided by SRWT for teachers to take children out safely and get the most out of the classroom, linking the curriculum to outdoor learning. Additionally, extra science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities could be led by experts from our regional universities. Activities would look at air pollution, soils, weather, hydrology, geology and wildlife. Local and natural history could be enhanced by developing resources with local history groups (Mosborough History Group) along with local experts such as Professor Ian Rotherham at Sheffield Hallam University. The plan would be to build a series of outdoor classrooms along the corridor (refer to Fig 1 for examples of what these could look like) so a larger number of schools could benefit from outdoor learning. There would also be more connectivity between local schools, promoting better community cohesion in future years. Finally, the wildlife corridor could be promoted for active travel to and from school, fostering healthier travel choices at an early age. Initial success will be measured via qualitative and quantitative methods. Health Focused Aims

By collaborating with the People Keeping Well (PWK) network (the social prescribing community organisation network led by Sheffield City Council) and the local community, numerous mental and physical healthcare initiatives could be developed within or connected to the corridor. Initiatives could include:

 Active educational activities such as bird walks, mushroom identification, wildflower walks, bat & owl walks, butterfly and moth walks, foraging tours (to be held in conjunction with SRWT which already run such activities);  Passive educational activities such as ‘Pint of Science’ style talks;  Natural history meetings and the digital monitoring of wildlife (via the internet-linked camera traps);  Group activities such as social events, wildlife photography / painting along with fostering generational links through activity supervision.  Active group initiatives such as outdoor Yoga, Zumba and Park Runs. The upkeep and development of the corridor provides opportunities for numerous healthcare initiatives such as passively contributing in the form of IT support and website maintenance or more active contribution through litter picking, assisting SCC rangers, pond clearance and meadow cutting. There is also a good opportunity to engage people in citizen science-based projects and this could be particularly useful for those who feel marginalised by wider society as they will be contributing to societal knowledge. Finally, tasks that involve generating income for the corridor such as apple harvesting and the coppicing of woodland for charcoal production and timber sales could be implemented (by linking up with Woods). In terms of the latter, an initiative such as the Bolsover Woodlands Enterprise (BWE) project could be developed. The BWE is a social enterprise that manages and protects woodlands in nearby . All staff are adults who have a learning disability and who would otherwise find it difficult to get work in the wider economy. They aim to give people with learning disabilities opportunities to develop new skills, confidence and make a real difference in their communities. The primary focus is the sustainable management of woodlands and the project is overseen by an enterprise board comprising of volunteers made up staff, parents & carers and local councillors. From an economic standpoint, the employment of local people would bring capital into the local economy whilst ecologically, the coppicing of native woodland for charcoal production is beneficial to wildlife and reduces the carbon footprint of charcoal which in the UK is generally imported. The success of healthcare initiatives could be measured via both qualitative and quantitative methods.

Conclusion We believe our vision of a two-mile long wildlife corridor will address climate change issues assisting Sheffield City Council to reach zero net carbon targets. It will also, very importantly, create a space not just for nature to flourish but for the community to improve its physical and mental health, along with providing a space for children to engage with the natural world. The S20 Wildlife Corridor could generate its own income streams, create employment opportunities for the local community and adults with learning difficulties, and grant funding could be obtained. We believe community based ecological focused initiatives such as the S20 Wildlife Corridor fit well with a number of national funding schemes including the National Lottery Communities Fund, the recently announced £40m ‘Green Recovery Fund' and tree planting schemes run by The Woodland Trust. This vision is bold and will require collaboration across a range of stakeholders, but most of all it will require political will from Sheffield City Council to see this vision realised. This will require SCC to realise that Owlthorpe Fields are too important a community asset to be built on and instead should be saved for the benefit of future generations.