Spending time in nature is good for us but we know that wildlife is in decline and many of our green spaces are no longer wildlife friendly.
Macc Wild Network is working to create corridors and networks of wildlife-rich open spaces throughout the town so that everyone can enjoy easy access to nature-friendly green spaces.
We are working in partnership with other organisations to make Macclesfield greener and more biodiverse. Woodlands, hedgerows, wetlands and grasslands will all make Macclesfield more resilient to climate change and an even nicer place to live.
If you'd like to volunteer on one of our projects please contact us below.
We have seen a busy period in 2023 continuing the momentum from previous projects.
The National Lottery Community Fund is helping to fund our project at Macclesfield Leisure Centre. After planting around 600 trees at the site creating a community orchard and areas of woodland good for birds and pollinators we started 2023 in maintenance mode to ensure the trees and meadow areas thrive. We have also just installed two benches for the public to come and enjoy the habitat.
Several other projects are also in progress with hedge/tree planting at two local Macclesfield schools, the ongoing works at South Park and creation of another community orchard on Victoria Road.
If you are a local landowner and would be interested in ideas to make your land better for wildlife, we may be able to help. Please click below and send us a few details and we will get back to you to see how we can best help.
Macc Wild Network have been working with the Leisure Centre team at Everybody, Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Cheshire East (ANSA) and RSPB Wildlife Explorers on a number of initiatives.
The grass has been left to grow longer in designated areas allowing flowers to bloom and creating new habitats for insects and small mammals and food for birds and pollinators.
In 2023 paths will be cut through the long grass giving walkers the opportunity to see and enjoy the plants and wildlife up close. Some of our fundraising activities will aim to install benches around the site to provide somewhere to sit and watch the wildlife or admire the views over to the hills of the Peak District.
Stopping mowing also allows trees and shrubs to regenerate. This area close to the running track is already creating new areas of scrub and young woodland. As a general rule habitat that looks untidy to the human eye is good for nature!
Areas of existing woodland provide wildlife bridges or corridors to other green spaces such as those behind Fallibroome Academy and over towards Macclesfield Rugby Club.
Sometimes all we need to do is stop mowing and nature will return but there are many other things we can do to give nature a helping hand. In 2023 we will continue to increase the variety of species here and provide more nectar for pollinators and food for birds.
The proposals to build a link road and 950 houses on the northern part Danes Moss would result in the destruction of a wonderfully biodiverse green resource on the edge of Macclesfield. The Save Danes Moss Community Group have been working with Cheshire Wildlife Trust to create an exciting and ambitious alternative vision for the future of the site.
The vision proposes that the irreplaceable peat bog habitat is rewetted to store and sequester carbon and help in the fight against climate change, the wildlife which includes over 60 protected species is protected, and the site remains as a green space where the people of Macclesfield can connect with nature on their doorstep.
The vision also explores the possibility of creating green corridors to connect the site with existing and proposed wildlife-rich spaces in and around Macclesfield and the surrounding countryside. In this way it would become part of the network that Macc Wild are working towards. With imagination and determination Macclesfield really does have the potential to become a green and wildlife-friendly town; a place for both people and nature.
If you would like us to send you a copy of the vision, please drop us a line
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