It isn’t just wildlife information that you need if you are setting up a community wildlife project or group. You also need to consider a host of other things such as funding, insurance, how to recruit volunteers, how to organise meetings and how to ensure that everyone gets a say.
Devon Communities Together offers lots of advice on how to set up a community project, including training courses on key issues.
This easy step by step guide produced by My Community is a great place to start for information on governance, insurance and funding.
Insurance
If you are going to use volunteers to carry out habitat management it may be worth considering membership of The Conservation Volunteers community support network which offers a number of benefits including access to Public Liability and Personal Accident Insurance By joining their network you also get access to discounts from TCV’s suppliers of tools, trees, seeds and equipment, funding information, support and guidance, grant information, discounted insurance and more.
Linking to groups such as Women’s Institute, Parish Councils and Scout groups may allow you to be covered by their public liability insurance at no extra cost.
Funding
With a focus on the low carbon economy, the funds featured on Devon County Council’s Environment Funding page cover energy efficiency, renewables, resource management, biodiversity and nature conservation.