Photography project aims to capture rewilding progress

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and Derby City Council are urging visitors to a Derby park, which is being ‘re-wilded’, to be part of a photography project.

Visitors to Allestree Park are being asked to be part of monitoring the changes to the landscape as community rewilding progresses.

Based on conversations about what people want to see happen in Allestree Park, the trust and the council are facilitating a timeline of activities to help shape the park into a richer place for people and nature and help tackle the effects of climate change.

One of those activities is monitoring the evolving landscape changes through fixed point photography, a user-friendly way for members of the public to monitor visual changes to the landscape through the seasons and years.

Ten fixed-point photography wooden posts with phone brackets attached have been installed at Allestree Park.

With technology powered by video specialists Ace Nature, the public can now take photos, using their mobile phones, from the same point over time and upload them online via a QR code displayed on the posts.

Derby City Council and volunteers installed the fixed points in spring to allow the Friends of Allestree Park volunteer group to test the system in preparation for it being rolled out to everyone.

Now, each photograph submitted by the public can be compared to monitor the evolving landscape, visual changes and trends, so the community can see how rewilding is changing the park and ensure the best outcomes for people and wildlife.

Lisa Witham, director of wilder communities at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said: “We know from our community conversations throughout the life of this project that people want to be more involved in projects, including monitoring changes and volunteering.

“We are excited to be able to deliver the fixed-point photography project, which will not only provide a greater understanding of the ever-changing landscape at Allestree, but also provide opportunities for people to take part and benefit their mental and physical wellbeing through connecting with nature.

“We want as many people as possible to get involved regularly to give the project team a realistic and critically important snapshot of what is happening to the landscape over time.

“This can be used alongside other data and survey results to monitor and evaluate, as the park is rewilded into a space that nature and people can enjoy. We are so excited to roll this project out to everyone and look forward to seeing people’s photos.”

Councillor Ndukwe Onuoha, the city council’s cabinet member for Streetpride, public safety and leisure, said: “This initiative gives all our visitors to Allestree Park the opportunity to be at the heart of the community rewilding project, helping to record progress as the seasons change, and over time.

“I look forward to getting out in the park and to seeing the results as the project develops.”