Wild About Devon (WAD) is a platform and network to help guide and inspire community action for wildlife. With so many fantastic community groups in Devon playing their part to tackle the Climate and Ecological Emergency, WAD provides a central place to link communities with conservation organisations and experts.
Our aim is to inspire communities to set up their own groups and projects with help from the Devon Local Nature Partnership’s many partners and start to make a real difference in their area.
Join the Wild About Devon Facebook Page to share and find out about community events.
Contact us with news, ideas or feedback at: naturalenvironment-mailbox@devon.gov.uk. Wild About Devon is all about connecting people and so will only work with your input. Please let us know if you can help or how we can improve things. Contact us at naturalenvironment-mailbox@devon.gov.uk
Wild About Devon want to keep in touch with you to facilitate networking for communities taking action for wildlife and to share information on grants, awards, events and other relevant information. To join the Wild About Devon Forum, please fill out this form.
By signing up to the Wild About Devon Forum, you are consenting to share your email address with the other members of the Wild About Devon Forum to facilitate networking within the group, and agreeing not to share members’ email addresses outside of this forum.
Managing, restoring and creating habitats is a hugely important and rewarding process which can become a fantastic project for the whole community to get involved in – from leaving long grass in the park to planting a new hedgerow or creating a wildlife rich pond.
Find out more about legislation, policy and planning
Surveys, Funding, and the role of
Parish and Town CouncilsFind out about our Forum, including in person and online events, and how to get involved
Wild About Devon runs an annual grant scheme providing funding to community wildlife and nature projects. Find out about past and present funding.
Take a look at our Community Action Map and add your group
Find out about the Wild About Devon Awards in 2022 and 2023
We’ve created a 3-minute animation to help summarise Wild About Devon.
There is a steering group overseeing the work of Wild About Devon. See the full list of organisations.
Important: This initiative is overseen by the Devon County Council ecology team who co-ordinate the Devon LNP. They do not have the capacity to provide direct advice to community groups and so please don’t expect this. However, the contacts list (below) provides details of organisations, groups and consultants who can provide advice (either free or for a charge).
Community Wildlife Grant Scheme 2024 – Applications are closed!
Due to overwhelming demand, all funds have been distributed for this year’s Community Wildlife Grant Scheme! The response from communities across Devon has been fantastic, with numerous inspiring projects already underway to protect and enhance local wildlife.
Communities could apply for up to £500 to fund initiatives that support local wildlife and biodiversity. 
This grant scheme recognises the vital role community action can play in creating long term benefits for wildlife. This could range from gardens and parks, to churchyards, orchards, window boxes, ponds and ditches, buildings and more!
The grant was developed by the Devon Local Nature Partnership and is financed by the Devon Environment Foundation (DEF), Devon Communities Together (DCT), and Devon County Council (DCC), as part of the commitment to help tackle the Ecological Emergency.
While the application window was originally set to close on 1st October 2024, the high level of interest and volume of fantastic projects led to the scheme closing early on 2nd September 2024.
Stay tuned for more updates on the 2024 grant scheme and its impact.
To find out more about the scheme, please visit the Devon Communities Together website. If you would like to find out about the positive impacts brought about by the grant scheme in 2023, read this summary report.
Community Action Map
Help us all to connect and find out what others are doing by adding your group or project to this new interactive map.
Discussion Forum
Got a burning question that other community groups might be able to answer? Want to share your expertise and help others or just connect with like-minded souls? Why not join our Wild About Devon Facebook discussion group! Use this to share information on events, webinars and other handy updates on wildlife issues and projects across Devon.
Community Action for Wildlife Devon | Facebook
Community Forum
In-person:
On the 29th November 2024, Wild About Devon are hosting an in-person forum at the Watermark in Ivybridge.
Do you support communities connect to nature? Join the Wild About Devon forum for a day of networking, sharing ideas and learning about some fantastic work taking place across Devon.
This free event is a great opportunity to get to know other people working and volunteering around community nature projects, and to explore your own work in a supportive space. Please email bridie.devonnature@gmail.com if you would be interested in speaking about your project, running a workshop or displaying information.
Teas and coffees will be provided during the day, and you can bring your own lunch or use one of the cafes on site or in the nearby town centre.
To attend, book your place at: Wild About Devon Forum – The Watermark, Ivybridge (tickettailor.com)
Online:
In April 2023, we held an online community forum. In case you missed it, you can view the presentation used here.
The forum covered;
- an inspiring talk from an established community group Ogwild
- how to apply and succeed in the WAD awards application
- how to apply and succeed in the WAD community grant scheme
- restoring Devon’s nature- our Local Nature Recovery Strategy, and how communities will be involved
- discussions, questions, and networking
If you would like to watch the recording of this webinar, please send a request via email to naturalenvironment-mailbox@devon.gov.uk.
Parish and Town Council Wildlife Network
Parish and Town Councils have a statutory duty to take action for wildlife. If you are a council wanting to improve your area for wildlife please join our Devon Parish & Town Council Wildlife Network.
Surveys
Find out what wildlife and habitats are in your local area. Here you’ll find information about collecting background information and data, recording, surveying techniques and mapping.
Devon Wildlife Community of the Year Awards 2023
On 1st December 2023 the Wildlife Community of the Year Awards celebrated the communities which are giving Devon’s wildlife a helping hand and making a positive impact. You can read more about the event and the 2023 winners here. You can also read up about the 2022 Awards.
Legislation, policy and planning
Headline information on legislation, policy and relevant issues such as planning, lighting, disease and invasives.
Take action for wildlife
Here you’ll find lots of information about how to manage, restore and create different habitats.
Funding, insurance and more…
Things to consider when setting up a wildlife project, community group or initiative including information on funding, health and safety and insurance.
Contacts
Webinars
We are setting up a series of webinars for community groups and Parish and Town Councils and will promote any other relevant webinars that partners are running. See our community webinars page for details.
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Privacy Notice – Wild About Devon
Devon County Council (DCC) is collecting and or processing your personal data as a Data Controller under Data Protection Legislation and our ICO registration number is Z6475582. This privacy notice concerns the processing of personal data that takes place by DCC’s Natural Environment Team.
This notice explains what information we collect, why we collect it and how we keep it secure. It also explains your rights and our legal obligation. Should you wish to find out more about Devon County Council’s data protection policies please contact our Data Protection Officer.
We will notify you of any changes to this privacy notice
This privacy notice was last updated 27th October 2022. If we use your personal data for any new purposes, updates will be made to the policy information and changes communicated, where necessary in accordance with current data protection legislation. Any queries relating to this privacy notice please contact the Data Protection Officer.
What information are we processing?
We may collect, store or otherwise process information about you which may include:
- Your name
- Your email address
Purpose of collecting or processing your personal data
DCC may need to collect or otherwise process your personal data personal data so that we can;
- Notify you of information related to Wild About Devon
The legal basis for us collecting your personal data
Where we are collecting personal data about you for the provision of one of the purposes outlined in this privacy notice, we rely upon your consent for this purpose. You may withdraw your consent at any time by emailing us.
Personal data that is collected for any of the purposes outlined in this notice is never used for direct marketing purposes and is not sold on to any other third parties.
Recipients or categories of recipients that we may share your personal data with
If we feel that it is necessary to share your personal data with professionals to ensure you or someone you work with is safeguarded from harm, we rely upon the provisions of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and Children Act 1989 & 2004. Where it is necessary to share medical or social care information for these purposes, we rely upon article 9(2)(h) of the General Data Protection Regulation (information necessary for medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems).
We may also need to share some personal data about you, so that we can support third party organisations to discharge their regulatory requirements. This includes organisations such as;
- The data protection regulator (the Information Commissioner’s Office)
- The Care Quality Commission
We may also share information to enable us to comply with court orders and other legal obligations. If this is necessary, we will only share the minimum amount of personal data needed for this purpose.
International transfers
No personal data is transferred outside of the European Union.
How long will we hold your personal data?
Devon County Council will retain your personal data for the length of Wild About Devon initiative.
Your data protection rights
Under Data Protection Legislation, you have the right to obtain a copy of their personal records held by us, this is called a Subject Access Request (SAR).
Further details on your rights under data protection legislation and how to exercise them.
We are required to offer you the opportunity to withdraw your consent at any time. If you wish to withdraw your consent, please contact ‘naturalenvironment-mailbox@devon.gov.uk’.
Complaints
If you have any comments, queries or complaints about this privacy notice or the processing of your personal data please contact our Data Protection Officer.
Alternatively, if you are not happy with the way that DCC is handling your personal data, you are entitled to appeal to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The Information Commissioners Office enforces and oversees the Data Protection Regulations.
Contact details::
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AFEmail: casework@ico.org.uk
Automated decisions
The intended processing of your personal data, will not include use of technology that will make decisions about any individuals by automated means.