The Bedfordshire Choice award 2023

Voting has now closed in the Bedfordshire Choice Award, part of the CPRE Bedfordshire Living Countryside Awards 2023.

The award recognises the project that best promotes a living and thriving countryside as chosen by the people of Bedfordshire.

Below are summaries of each of our shortlisted entrants. These are in alphabetical order by project name and are based on the information provided in the application forms.

Aragon Lacemakers

Aragon Lacemakers engage the public with both the history and craft of lacemaking. A successful bid from the Bedford High Street Action Zone Fund enabled them to make a video capturing the recent history of lacemaking and the High Street. Lace items made by members are currently form part of a colourful display at The Higgins, Bedford, showing the beauty of today’s lace. The group are also inspiring the next generation through workshops and their Young Lacemakers groups.

Barton Hill Farm

Barton Hill Farm is an arable farm which takes increasing the biodiversity on their land seriously. They are adding new habitats, creating environmental features and maintaining hedgerows sympathetically. Wildlife is encouraged through lapwing nesting sites, barn owl boxes, bat boxes and over 40 “skylark plots” which are used by skylarks and hares for foraging and sun bathing. Education is a key part of their environmental work and they run farm walks and work with local schools to help children understand where their food comes from.

Bradgers Hill Wilder Futures

Bradgers Hill is a hidden gem in the outskirts of the Bushmead Estate in Luton. It is a lush grassland habitat for significant wildlife and plants. The project has communities at its heart, hoping to inspire people to understand, care for and take action for the precious green spaces that envelop the urban Luton landscape. The project will use creative ways to engage diverse audiences and forge a new sense of place and belonging within the local green spaces.

Dunstable Wombles

Dunstable Wombles started with just one person in 2021 and now boasts a Facebook Group of more than 900 members. Between them they have clocked up 350 hours of volunteering through community events, collecting over 300 bags of litter and recycling. The events have brought people together and encouraged them to have pride in their neighbourhood. They provide opportunities for people to get outside, be active at their own pace, and make a positive difference to the local environment and wildlife.

Edible High Town

Edible High Town is a grassroots community initiative that has transformed several plots of derelict or unused land in a highly urbanised part of Luton into attractive and edible plots. The project is primarily about growing community whilst growing food. This is done through small patches of land that are loved, cared for and worked on collaboratively. They have engaged with many residents through events, weekly gardening work and ad hoc volunteering. They have also put on trails for local school children, given produce away to local people in need and run foraging workshops in the local park.

Friends of Harrold-Odell Country Park

The Friends of Harrold-Odell Country Park are a group of volunteers that support all aspects of work in the park. For four days each week, they help with practical projects that benefit wildlife, maintain and enhance habitats and make the park more accessible and safer for all users. They help look after woodland, wildflower meadows, hedgerows, a community orchard, river meadow, wet woodland, lakes and river habitat. The Friends have paid for volunteer training and supported people getting experiences helping them back into work. The group has been instrumental in the park being awarded 15 green flags in a row.

Friends of Studham Common

The Friends of Studham Common was formed in 1997 to restore this neglected green space. Guided by expert conservationists, its volunteers have restored around 500 metres of hedgerows, reclaimed lost grasslands and woodland glades, re-opened footpaths and bridleways and installed nesting boxes to encourage wildlife. The Common’s varied habitats support an impressive range of flora and fauna which includes rare species such as skylarks, hazel dormice and orchids. Its hay meadows provide a great habitat for butterflies, other insects and nesting birds. Today Studham Common is a much valued and well used green space.

Hay Lane Flowers

Hay Lane Flowers provide high quality cut flowers with minimal air miles and all plastic and insecticide free. They have recently acquired another acre of land where they are opening a new flower field for PYO and community events, such as picnics, treasure hunts and outdoor yoga classes. Hay Lane Flowers also provide student work placements, training and mentoring, along with freelance opportunities. They work with local businesses and Bedford town centre organisations to enhance the urban environment through projects such as the Giant Christmas Wreath.

Hillside Market Garden

Hillside Market Garden is rooted in rural Central Bedfordshire and is a one-acre market garden with a focus and passion for growing delicious and nutritious seasonal vegetables and fresh cut flowers. The business is focused on collaborative working, and they have developed relationships with several small local businesses. The introduction of veg boxes is aimed at reconnecting local people with local seasonal food. They hope that their decision to only offer veg boxes to people within a fixed radius of the site will help them build a rapport with their customer base and create a deep-rooted relationship within their local community.

Inclusive Farm

Inclusive Farm has been created to show people with disabilities a route into agriculture and give them the confidence to pursue a worthwhile and fulfilling career. They rear a variety of livestock and poultry, some of which are processed and sold locally. Inclusive Farm provides an opportunity for students and people with disabilities to learn practical skills such as animal husbandry and more.

Morgan Pell Meats

Morgan Pell Meats is a long-established farm butcher selling lamb and beef grown on their North Bedfordshire farm along with local pork, free range chickens and local honey. They have recently added biltong, which is made in Ampthill using their beef, to their product list. The farm is home to beautiful environmental areas and is crossed by well used public footpaths. They have hosted a successful farm walk with a local branch of Friends of the Earth.

Mowsbury Hillfort

Mowsbury Hillfort is a well used and locally valued green space on the edge of Bedford. The Friends of Putnoe Wood and Mowsbury Hillfort take the lead on the management of Mowsbury Hillfort which is a scheduled monument and county wildlife site. The site is home to a wide range of habitats and wildlife which the Friends maintain and improve. They also work on interpretation and education projects including new information boards, leaflets and school visits.

Putnoe Wood

Putnoe Wood is a Local Nature Reserve and County Wildlife Site of ancient semi-natural broadleaf woodland. The Friends of Putnoe Wood and Mowsbury Hillfort take the lead on the management of the site, emphasising maintaining its healthy wildlife habitats and good public accessibility. An extensive survey was conducted by the Wildlife Trust in 2019 which has informed their vision for the site. They run school visits and older pupils have assisted with tasks such as the annual coppicing work.

Save Steppingley Road Field

The Save Steppingley Road campaign was run by a group of local people fighting to save a field full of nature from being developed. They worked hard to raise awareness in the local community through a Facebook page, holding a public meeting, leafleting and making sure people who are not online could respond to the application.

SHARE: Flitwick and Ampthill

SHARE: Flitwick and Ampthill is a small charity that was set up to help raise awareness of environmental issues and to promote a circular economy through the sharing and reuse of items in the local community. They operate a Library of Things – a place where you can borrow something that you need for a short time, rather than buying it. They also now run a Repair Café which is a pop-up event where members of the community can bring items that are broken and they’ll be matched with a skilled volunteer who will attempt to repair them.

Thatching in Bedfordshire

Chris Dodson’s re-thatching works in Bedfordshire have been focused on ensuring that the roof is renewed so it is aesthetically pleasing, long lasting and above all functional. Work is carried out sympathetically with the building, complying with guidance notes issued by Historic England. Local suppliers of both straw and water reed are used as much as possible. Sustainability also includes passing on skills and knowledge to the next generation of thatchers.

Warden Abbey Vineyard

Warden Abbey Vineyard is a not-for-profit community vineyard originally planted by monks during medieval times at the Cistercian Abbey of Warden. It now runs as part of Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity as a unique resource for the local community. Volunteers are integral in caring for the vineyard, as well as carrying out historical research, vineyard tours, organising events and more. Not only does the local community benefit from the vineyard, but so does the local environment. Wildflowers are encouraged to grow wherever possible, and nesting birds/insects are welcomed.

Windsor Drive Community Open Space

The project campaigns as a community group to keep the open green space at Windsor Drive, Houghton Regis, an open green space to be enjoyed by the whole community. They bring people together for community events, celebrations and activities such as litter picking, keeping the Houghton Brook, which runs alongside the space, clear and free flowing, fitness sessions and Jubilee parties. Alongside this, they have worked with the community to submit petitions, held and attended community meetings, established other methods of campaigning. People can come together to enjoy the space, improving mental health and wellbeing, and protecting wildlife habitats at the same time.