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'Be at the heart of community' in rewilding scheme

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Fixed wooden point in park for members of the public to take pictures. A path and fields can be seen in the background.Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
The fixed points were put in place in spring at the former golf course

Members of the public are being encouraged to capture a park's changing landscape in all its seasonal glory.

Allestree Park in Derby has 10 fixed wooden posts for visitors to document extensive rewilding at the site.

Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration that aims to return habitats to a natural state.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and Derby City Council, which are leading the project, said the images would help monitor the park through the seasons, so the community could see the effects of extensive rewilding at the site.

ACE Nature Two photographs side-by-side taken from the same spot in Allestree Park. The one on the left was taken in May, and the grass and leaves are green. The other was taken in October, and the grass is yellow, with the autumn sun shining on the park ACE Nature
Fixed photography points are on some of the main walking routes around the park, said Katherine Clarke

Katherine Clarke, from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said it was "all about people leading nature’s recovery, so for them to be a part of monitoring the changes, it makes it really exciting for them".

The fixed points were put in place in spring at the former golf course to allow the Friends of Allestree Park volunteer group to test the system ahead of it being rolled out.

The posts have a metal mobile phone mount on top, and members of the public can take photos on their personal devices and upload them via a QR code on the structures.

The images will all be uploaded to a website for the public to view.

Mrs Clarke said: "Their photo becomes part of a series of photos taken at exactly the same place over a period of time and tells a story of all the changes happening in the landscape.

"They are scattered across the whole of the park – they are really accessible."

ACE Nature Two photographs side-by-side taken from the same spot in Allestree Park. The one on the left was taken in May and shows grass with buttercups and trees in the background. On the right, is an image taken in October, and some of the leaves on the trees are orange ACE Nature
The rewilding scheme, which is in its third year, takes a nature-led approach

Earlier this year, £1.1m National Lottery funding was granted to allow the rewilding scheme, which is in its third year, to continue for a further three years.

Mrs Clarke added photographs from the trial already show "how the grass is growing longer, wild flowers are coming in, dead wood that has dropped and... pools are forming.

"And natural regeneration - there are lots of little oak trees appearing where they didn’t before."

Councillor Ndukwe Onuoha, city council cabinet member for streetpride, public safety and leisure, added the photography posts "gives all our visitors to Allestree Park the opportunity to be at the heart of the community rewilding project".

ACE Nature Two photographs side-by-side taken from the same spot in Allestree Park. The one on the left was taken in May and shows bright green grass and a path through the landscape at the back. The photo on the right was snapped in October and the grass is brown and light green, it's difficult to see the path through the park, and the air is slightly misty ACE Nature
The rewilding scheme has seen an end to mowing across most of the site

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