Touch grass: How Ipswich is reconnecting with nature and community

Nature as medicine

Ella Broom didn’t expect a conservation internship to change her life, but spending a year with Suffolk Wildlife Trust gave her more than just practical skills.

“I was definitely the most physically and mentally healthy I've ever been,” she said. “Every day I was outside – in salt marshes, woodlands, heaths, meadows – doing something different. It did wonders for me.”

Ella gained certificates in brush-cutting, tractors and chainsaws. She now works as a reserves assistant with Norfolk Wildlife Trust. But the biggest shift was internal.

“I didn’t know anything going in. I didn’t know about birds. Now I’m obsessed. I’m out all the time. I realised I’m not built for the office. I need to be in nature.”

She says the impact still shapes her daily life.

“If I’m really grumpy or sad, I go outside for ten minutes. It changes how I feel. We’re meant to have that connection. I think we’ve been losing it.”

Rewilding isn’t a luxury

Julie Long, partnerships manager at Suffolk Wildlife Trust, wants people to rethink what conservation means.

“There’s this perception that we’re just about cute animals or selling biodiversity credits. But it’s not about adding more trees and ticking a box. It’s about reconnecting ecosystems and people.”

Suffolk Wildlife Trust manages over 7,000 acres of reserves across Suffolk. But that’s just 0.8 percent of the county’s land. The rest includes farmland, gardens, roadsides and community spaces.

“To reach the 2030 target, protecting 30 percent of land and sea, we need more people involved. We’re working with farmers, landowners, residents. It’s about corridors, not just pockets. And that includes places like Ipswich.”

Ipswich is already punching above its weight. A 2024 council report named the town one of the top ten biodiversity destinations in England.

That includes over 780 gardens now connected by hedgehog highways, along with wildflower strips, native planting and bug hotels across the town.

“You don’t need a huge green space,” Ella said. “A window box can make a difference.”

Local spaces, lasting impact

In Ipswich, green spaces are also becoming community spaces. Events like the upcoming wildlife pub quiz and bug-home building workshops at The Woolpack are giving residents of all ages a way to engage with nature while having a laugh.

In Holywells and Chantry Park, Suffolk Wildlife Trust is running everything from wild cocktails to photography workshops and toddler-friendly nature sessions. They’re fun, accessible and rooted in the town’s everyday landscape.

Jess, who lives in north-west Ipswich, says getting involved didn’t feel like a big deal – just small changes in her garden. But they had a knock-on effect.

“The kids notice things more now,” she said. “We’ve spoken to neighbours we never really talked to before. You realise you’re not doing it alone.”

The business case for biodiversity

Julie wants more businesses to take action.

“Supporting nature isn’t just a philanthropic choice. Our economy relies on it – tourism, agriculture, everything.”

Managing one acre of reserve costs around £250 a year. If each local business covered just one acre, the impact would ripple across Suffolk.

“It doesn’t have to be about huge gestures but rather about ongoing commitment to work with us to bring back nature and in doing so, support climate resilience and ultimately the future security of our county.”

“I don’t think my children, some of whom are in their twenties, have ever seen a hedgehog,” Julie said. “When I was a child, it would be commonplace to see one in my back garden. This is just a simple indicator that nature isn’t quite as abundant as we may think – decline is very real.”

From crisis to connection

Julie understands why people feel overwhelmed.

“When a problem seems so vast it can be easy to tune out. As an organisation, however, we want to encourage people to be hopeful. Yes, the crisis is real but there are tangible actions we can take to give us hope and ultimately that’s what moves people.”

She says the tipping point is clear. One in four people taking action is enough to shift a whole community. Not by sharing a post, but by planting a seed, cutting a fence hole or speaking up for wildlife in a planning meeting.

“This is our nature. Our responsibility. If we care, things change.”

Ella agrees.

“Touch grass. Just get outside. It really changes everything.”

Want to get involved?

From bug-home building at The Woolpack to wild photography in the park, Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s events are a gentle way to reconnect with nature. You don’t need to be an expert – just curious.

See what’s on near you: suffolkwildlifetrust.org/events-in-ipswich

Because what Ipswich grows now, shapes what comes next.