This week marks Great Big Green Week, the UK’s largest celebration of community action for climate and nature. Launched in 2021 by the Climate Coalition, the initiative was created to bring together communities, organisations and individuals to take positive action for the environment. From tree planting and community gardening to litter picks and wildlife conservation projects, Great Big Green Week aims to demonstrate how local action can contribute to a healthier, greener future while encouraging more people to get involved in protecting nature.

When we think about environmental action, it’s easy to focus on large-scale issues. Climate change, biodiversity loss and habitat destruction can often feel overwhelming, particularly when they are discussed on a global scale. As a result, many people are left wondering whether their individual actions can really make a difference.

The reality is that environmental change often starts much closer to home.

Across towns and cities, local communities are creating green spaces where nature and people can thrive together. Community gardens, wildlife-friendly planting schemes, pocket parks and volunteer-led conservation projects may seem small in isolation, but collectively they have a significant impact.

These spaces provide food and shelter for pollinators, improve biodiversity and create opportunities for people to connect with nature in their everyday lives. Just as importantly, they create a sense of community. They bring neighbours together, encourage people to spend time outdoors and help foster a greater appreciation for the natural world around us.

One of the most encouraging aspects of Great Big Green Week is its focus on accessibility. Taking action for nature doesn’t require acres of land or specialist knowledge. It can be as simple as planting pollinator-friendly flowers in a window box, volunteering at a local community garden or choosing to spend more time supporting organisations working to protect and restore nature.

For many people living in urban areas, these smaller actions are often the most realistic and achievable. Yet they are no less important.

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Nature doesn’t only exist in national parks and rural landscapes. It exists in community gardens tucked between buildings, wildflowers growing alongside pavements and trees providing shade in busy city streets. These spaces play an important role in supporting wildlife and improving our quality of life, particularly in densely populated areas where access to nature can be limited.

At LettsSafari, we often talk about the importance of making nature accessible. Whether that’s through rewilding projects, community initiatives or simply encouraging people to spend more time outdoors, the goal remains the same: helping more people connect with the natural world.

Great Big Green Week is a reminder that meaningful action doesn’t always have to be dramatic. Sometimes it starts with noticing the green spaces around us, supporting local projects or making small changes that benefit wildlife in our own communities.

Nature starts where you are. And when enough people take small steps, those actions can grow into something much bigger.

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This National Garden Week, it’s easy to picture sprawling countryside gardens, perfectly maintained flower beds and acres of green space. But for many people living in towns and cities, gardening looks very different.

It might be a few pots on a balcony.

A planter box outside a flat.

A shared community garden tucked behind a church.

A neglected corner of land transformed by volunteers.

In urban areas, gardens are often small, improvised and shaped by the space available. Yet their impact can be surprisingly significant.

As our towns and cities become increasingly built up, access to nature is becoming more important, not less. Research continues to show that spending time in green spaces can improve wellbeing, reduce stress and strengthen community connections. Yet many urban residents have limited access to private gardens or larger natural spaces.

This is where local gardens become so valuable.

Across London and other UK cities, community gardens are quietly creating opportunities for people to connect with both nature and one another. They provide habitats for pollinators, places to grow food, opportunities to learn new skills and spaces where neighbours can meet who might otherwise never speak.

These spaces are rarely just about gardening.

They’re about community.

They’re about creating something collectively that benefits everyone.

One bee-friendly planter might seem insignificant on its own, but when multiplied across thousands of balconies, windowsills, front gardens and community spaces, the impact becomes much larger. Urban wildlife relies on these connected pockets of habitat to move through our cities.

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National Garden Week is also a reminder that gardening doesn’t have to be expensive, time-consuming or require a large amount of land.

You don’t need a countryside cottage.

You don’t need acres of space.

You don’t even need a garden.

A few pollinator-friendly plants in a container can provide food for bees and butterflies. A small herb garden can reconnect people with food growing. Volunteering at a community garden for a few hours a month can help support local biodiversity while building relationships within your neighbourhood.

Some of the most inspiring urban gardens aren’t the biggest or most impressive. They’re the ones created by ordinary people who looked at an unused space and saw potential.

As we celebrate National Garden Week, perhaps it’s worth paying closer attention to the green spaces around us. The community garden you’ve never visited. The volunteer project you’ve walked past dozens of times. The neglected corner that could become something more.

Cities need nature, but nature also needs people willing to make space for it.

Whether that’s through a community garden, a window box or a single pot of wildflowers, every garden has the potential to contribute to a greener, healthier and more connected urban environment.

This National Garden Week, why not explore a local community garden, support a neighbourhood growing project or simply plant something for pollinators?

Small actions, multiplied across a city, can make a remarkable difference.

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Living in London can sometimes make nature feel distant or difficult to access, particularly without a car or a large budget. The Mole Gap Trail is a good reminder that some of the best countryside walks are still relatively close to the city and accessible entirely by public transport. Stretching between Leatherhead and Dorking through the Surrey Hills, the trail offers a mix of woodland, open countryside, riverside paths and farmland, all within an hour of central London.

Yesterday I did the walk myself, starting with the train from Waterloo to Leatherhead which only took 45 minutes. A return ticket cost around £14, making it a relatively affordable day out from London if you want to spend some time outdoors without travelling too far.

After arriving in Leatherhead, I walked through the town centre before joining the trail. One of the best things about the Mole Gap Trail is the variety of landscapes you pass through across the route. Throughout the walk you move between open fields, shaded woodland paths, riverside sections and quieter residential areas, so the scenery changes constantly and the route never really feels repetitive.

There is also a large amount of farmland surrounding the trail, meaning you regularly pass cows, sheep and horses throughout the walk. At points, the trail opens up into wider views across the Surrey Hills before narrowing back into tree-covered paths following the River Mole.

As I went during the heatwave, it was extremely hot for most of the day, but much of the trail is sheltered by trees which made the walk far more manageable than expected. The combination of woodland and riverside sections also meant there was a noticeable amount of wildlife throughout the route. I spotted dragonflies hovering above the riverbanks, butterflies moving through the fields and bees almost constantly along the wildflowers lining parts of the trail.

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Around the midway point of the trail, I took a small detour to visit the local skipping rocks spot by the river to cool down, dip my feet in the water and grab an iced coffee before finishing the trail. After walking for hours in the heat, it ended up being one of the best parts of the day! I highly recommend going as its only a 15 minute detour off the trail and after hours of walking in the heat, it was the perfect place to cool down for a while and take a break by the river.

My favourite part of the trip was towards the end of the trail in which you walk through Denbies Wine Estate, the largest vineyard in the UK, which forms part of the trail and is open to the public. The vineyard stretches across the hillsides near Dorking and completely changes the atmosphere of the walk. After spending most of the route moving through woodland and farmland, arriving at the vineyard felt unexpectedly open and Mediterranean in parts, particularly in the heat.

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The Mole Gap Trail is around 6.5 miles depending on the route taken and works well as both a casual countryside walk and a longer hiking route. What makes it stand out is the variety packed into a relatively short distance, from woodland and riverside paths to vineyards, farmland and open hills. For anyone in London looking for an affordable and accessible way to spend more time outdoors, it’s definitely a route worth doing.

Living in a city can sometimes make you feel strangely disconnected from the place you actually live in.

We walk the same streets every day, pass the same buildings, rush between work, home and responsibilities, yet often know very little about what is happening around us. So many meaningful community spaces exist quietly in the background, hidden in plain sight.

Recently, I visited St. John’s Church Gardens in Waterloo, and it genuinely made me reflect on how much more involved we should all be in our local neighbourhoods.

What struck me most is that I have lived in this area for years and somehow never knew it existed.

In the middle of one of the busiest parts of London, surrounded by traffic, offices and constant movement, there is this peaceful community-led green space filled with plants, wildlife and people simply taking care of something together.

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Why Spaces Like This Matter

Community gardens are about far more than growing flowers or vegetables. They create spaces where people can slow down, connect and contribute to something meaningful within their local area.

At St. John’s Church Gardens, that sense of care and collaboration is everywhere. The garden has become an important public green space in Waterloo, welcoming local residents, commuters, office workers, students and passers-by looking for a moment of calm in the city.

The garden itself is incredibly thoughtful. There are wildlife-friendly areas, species-rich hedges that help reduce pollution, drought-tolerant planting and nectar-rich flowers designed to support pollinators. Hidden amongst the greenery are shaded spaces beneath huge walnut trees, cork oaks grown from seed and a wildlife garden encouraging insects and birds back into the area.

What makes the space feel especially meaningful is how community-focused it is. The garden is maintained by volunteers alongside Community Gardener Santa Pedone, who works with local people and students with special educational needs to help them learn horticultural skills and spend time in nature.

It is not just a garden. It is a place where people gather, learn, volunteer and reconnect with both nature and each other.

During the annual Waterloo Festival, the space also becomes home to exhibitions, tea parties and community events, showing how urban green spaces can support culture

and connection as much as biodiversity.

We Need to Pay More Attention to What Exists Around Us

Visiting this garden made me realise how often we overlook local initiatives because we assume there is “nothing around here” or because we become disconnected from our surroundings through routine.

But community projects are everywhere if we start looking for them!

Small gardens. Volunteer groups. Local clean-up projects. Wildlife initiatives. Neighbourhood events.

These spaces survive because people care enough to show up.

And the truth is, many of them need more support, more awareness and more involvement from local people.

Sometimes getting involved in your community does not need to be something huge or life-changing. It can simply mean spending an hour helping in a garden, attending a local event or taking the time to learn what exists in your own neighbourhood.

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When people hear the word rewilding, they often imagine huge forests, remote landscapes or vast countryside projects filled with roaming wildlife. But rewilding doesn’t only belong in rural areas. Some of the most important environmental changes are happening quietly inside cities, on balconies, in community gardens, on neglected patches of grass and in forgotten corners between buildings.

Urban rewilding may be smaller in scale, but its impact can be incredibly powerful.

As cities continue to grow and climate concerns become more urgent, many people are beginning to rethink what urban spaces should look like. Instead of endless concrete, perfectly trimmed lawns and lifeless developments, there is a growing movement towards making cities greener, wilder and more connected to nature.

And the best part is that anyone can be part of it!!

What Is Urban Rewilding?

Urban rewilding is about allowing nature to return to spaces that have become overly controlled or neglected. It can mean planting native wildflowers, creating habitats for pollinators, reducing excessive mowing, growing food locally or transforming unused land into thriving green spaces.

It is not about creating perfection. In fact, rewilding often embraces messiness and unpredictability. A patch of long grass buzzing with insects may not look “tidy” to everyone, but it is far more alive than a sterile lawn cut down every week.

Small actions matter more than people realise.

A few containers of wildflowers on a balcony. A community herb garden. Leaving part of a park unmown. Planting pollinator-friendly flowers outside your building. These are all forms of urban rewilding.

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Why Cities Desperately Need More Nature

Modern cities can feel disconnected from the natural world. Many urban areas suffer from air pollution, heat retention, noise and a lack of accessible green spaces. Wildlife habitats are constantly shrinking, while people themselves are becoming increasingly detached from nature.

Urban green spaces help tackle several issues at once.

They can:

• Support bees, butterflies and birds

• Improve air quality

• Reduce flooding by absorbing rainwater

• Cool down cities during heatwaves

• Improve mental wellbeing

• Strengthen local communities

• Encourage biodiversity

Nature is not just something beautiful to look at. Healthy ecosystems are essential for healthy communities!

Community Is at the Centre of Rewilding

One of the most inspiring parts of urban rewilding is how community-driven it often becomes.

Across cities, local people are reclaiming neglected spaces and turning them into something meaningful. Empty lots become gardens. Grey alleyways become wildlife corridors. Tiny planters become shared projects between neighbours.

These initiatives often begin with only a few people who care enough to start.

If you’re interested in getting involved locally, check out our previous Substack blog, “Why You Should Join a Community Gardening Initiative This Summer”, where we explore how community gardening can help you reconnect with nature, meet like-minded people and make a positive impact in your local area during the warmer months.

In a time where many people feel isolated or disconnected, these spaces can become places of belonging!

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Rewilding Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive or Perfect

There is sometimes pressure online for sustainability and environmentalism to look aesthetic, expensive or highly curated. But real rewilding is often simple and accessible and wild!

You do not need a large garden or lots of money to make a difference.

You can:

• Grow herbs on a windowsill

• Scatter native wildflower seeds

• Join a local gardening group

• Create a small insect-friendly space

• Compost food waste

• Support local environmental initiatives

• Encourage your council to protect green areas

Even choosing to notice and care about urban nature is a meaningful first step.

Letting Cities Feel Alive Again

For decades, many cities have been designed with efficiency rather than wellbeing in mind. But people are beginning to realise that greener cities are healthier, happier and more resilient places to live.

Urban rewilding reminds us that nature does not have to exist somewhere far away from everyday life. It can exist outside our windows, on our streets and within our communities. Nature has an incredible ability to return when given the chance and we need to give it that chance!

What small acts of urban rewilding have you noticed in your city? Whether it’s a community garden, a wildflower patch or simply letting nature grow a little wild, we’d love to hear about it!

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Share this post with someone who cares about greener cities, and let’s continue building spaces where both people and nature can thrive together.

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Across towns and cities, shared gardens are transforming empty spaces into places full of colour, food, wildlife and friendship. Whether it is a neighbourhood allotment, a volunteer planting group, a rooftop garden or a local park project, community gardening offers benefits that go far beyond growing plants.

Reconnect With Nature in an Urban World

City life can often feel fast, crowded and disconnected from the natural world. Community gardens create small but powerful pockets of nature where people can slow down and reconnect.

Spending time around soil, flowers, trees and wildlife has been shown to reduce stress and improve wellbeing. Even a couple of hours a week watering plants, weeding beds or planting vegetables can help you feel calmer and more grounded.

During summer, gardens are at their most vibrant. Bees are buzzing, flowers are blooming and crops are growing quickly, making it one of the best times to get involved.

Meet People in a Genuine Way

Making new connections as an adult can be difficult, especially in busy cities where everyone seems to be rushing somewhere. Community gardening creates natural opportunities to meet people without pressure.

You are working side by side with others, sharing tasks, chatting casually and building relationships over time. People of all ages and backgrounds often get involved, which makes these spaces feel welcoming and diverse.

Many lasting friendships begin through shared purpose, and gardening groups often become the heart of a neighbourhood.

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Learn Valuable Skills

You do not need any gardening experience to join. In fact, many people start with no knowledge at all.

Community gardening is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to learn practical skills such as:

• How to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs

• Composting and reducing food waste

• Seasonal planting

• Supporting pollinators and biodiversity

• Basic DIY and outdoor maintenance

• Sustainable living habits

These are skills that can stay with you for life and can even inspire changes at home, whether that means starting a windowsill herb garden or making your balcony greener.

Help Wildlife and the Environment

Cities need nature more than ever. Pollinators, birds and insects all rely on green spaces to survive, and many urban areas suffer from habitat loss.

Community gardens can make a real difference by planting wildflowers, creating ponds, growing native plants and increasing biodiversity in places that need it most.

They also help improve air quality, cool built-up areas during heatwaves and encourage more sustainable local food systems.

Every planted seed can have a wider impact than you realise.

A Positive Way to Spend Summer

Summer can sometimes pass quickly without us doing anything memorable. Joining a gardening initiative gives structure, purpose and something to look forward to each week.

Instead of spending every sunny day indoors or scrolling online, you could be harvesting tomatoes, planting sunflowers, sharing tea with neighbours or watching butterflies visit flowers you helped grow.

It is a simple reminder that meaningful experiences do not always need to be expensive or far away.

How to Find One Near You

A quick online search can reveal more opportunities than you might think. Look for:

• Community gardens

• Local park volunteer groups

• Allotment societies

• Urban farming projects

• Environmental charities

• Council-run green initiatives

• Neighbourhood social media groups

If you’re based in London, the Good to Grow London map is a brilliant place to start. It helps you discover community gardens, growing spaces and volunteer opportunities across the city, all in one place. You can explore it here: Good to Grow London Map

Most groups welcome beginners, so do not worry if you have no gardening experience. Often, all you need to do is turn up, get involved and be open to learning.

Joining a community gardening initiative is about more than plants. It is about creating greener cities, stronger communities and healthier lives.

This summer, consider giving a few hours of your time to a local garden project. You may arrive expecting to help grow flowers or vegetables, but leave with new skills, new friends and a stronger connection to the place you call home.