Survey Results
Summary of On-line Survey Results
27 July – 4 August 2019
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to complete our short survey. We\’ve crunched the numbers and reviewed all the comments and prepared a summary for you to review.
We asked you:
Would you be in favour of a project to expand Headley Down Nature Reserve?
Responses:
Total: 69
In favour: 65
Not in favour: 4
Further comments: 52
Number living locally: 66
Not local: 3
The Trustees would like to thank all those who have responded to this survey which helps us greatly with fundraising applications for our project. The overwhelming majority of comments welcome expansion, based largely on the success of the existing nature reserve. The improvement so far and the proposal for a new extension is described in glowing terms with words such as ‘wonderful’ (7), ‘lovely’ (5),‘amazing’(5), and similar positive remarks. As Trustees, it is really rewarding to know that we have frequent regular visitors who have said how much they appreciate the reserve, such as the carers and their clients from the sheltered housing on the Heatherlands Estate, older residents who welcome a peaceful place to sit and families who use it as a space for their children to play and learn. Respondents also specifically remark on the value of the nature reserve for wildlife and believe that any addition would benefit the environment (14). The improvement to the local area and community cohesion were often mentioned, together with the belief that an extension would help to change things for the better even further (26). Of the sixty-five positive responses, a few examples of comments may help to illustrate the feelings of local residents:
‘The work done so far has been a great improvement to the local area and has really helped to bring the local community together – so many people seem to be using the new paths, benches and enjoying the flowers. It would be great to see the project continue to grow even further, and be something that the local community can be proud of and support.’
‘The nature reserve is absolutely stunning and me and my 3 year old son go for a walk there at least twice a day! Would love you to expand the nature reserve. Huge well done and thank you for all the hard work you have put into it.’
‘It’s in the centre of a housing estate where the residents have very little to do and have shown that they very much like this amenity.’
‘Any step taken to increase bio-diversity and provide more opportunities for flora and fauna to prosper has to be a good thing, not only for the plants and animals but also for us humans. We need green spaces and places where we can get back to Nature…..’
The four who were not in favour raised issues that we intend to address. One respondent thought that although we had done well so far we ought not to become ‘over ambitious’. This concern can be managed by the Trust actively seeking to enlarge our volunteer group and the number of trustees, and by calling on specialist contractors as needed. Another respondent would prefer that we spend any funding we are awarded on the area we already have. The majority of grants are awarded to new projects, not those that have already been started or completed. However, the Trustees are committed to maintaining and enhancing the existing site by involving volunteers and by means of other fundraising possibilities. Two respondents thought that the expansion would not bring any real benefits to the local community, one because it would be too far to walk from the housing at the far end for those with disabilities and the other believing it would cost too much to make it worthwhile, commenting, ‘I do not see how this expansion follows the core values of the reserve to ‘bring people and wildlife together’. Our proposed 5 year plan for the project will specifically address these concerns. The plan will be prepared by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and, apart from detailing improvements that can be made for the benefit of wildlife, will also include plans to engage the community with the new project through volunteering, education, staged access to the site, events and media releases. We will keep everyone updated on the progress of the project through our Facebook page and hope we will soon be able to share some good news.
