An initiative to encourage women to explore local nature is expanding across the region.

Nature Girls started out in Northamptonshire in 2024 putting on wildlife walks and nature crafts for women – and quickly took off with hundreds of women signing up to receive updates. Now the Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants is launching activities in the Cambridge area with other areas planned for the future.

Megan Owen, Communities and Education officer, said: “We started the first group because unfortunately many women do not feel safe or comfortable exploring nature reserves alone. So coming together gave women who wanted to experience wildlife more confidence and we had a huge response.

“Being outside in nature is vital for our mental wellbeing and it’s also a great way to make new friends. We’ve had some really lovely, well supported events so far so it is fantastic to be widening it out to cover Cambridge, and hopefully other parts of the region soon.

“You don’t need to know anything about wildlife to take part and you will learn about species, pick up craft skills and discover new challenges like nature journalling.“

The new activities cover the Cambridge and Cambourne area and are open to all women and non binary people aged over 18. The launch event is Saturday August 8 from 9.30-12.30 at Cambourne Nature Reserve. The first event will be free and there will be a small charge for future events.

Booking is essential. Visit our events page at www.wildlifebcn.org/events, or email Rebecca.Neal@wildlifebcn.org

You can join the Facebook group: The Wildlife Trust’s Nature Girls to connect with the wider network and find out about the new WhatsApp group.