Wilder Coton - Cambridge Past, Present and Future

A Wilder Coton

Find out how you can be part of helping to create a wilder future in Cambridge for wildlife and everyone in the city to enjoy.

“A brilliant initiative to help reverse biodiversity loss in our region, and a real public asset. Well done CPPF!”

“What a wonderful initiative, making a huge difference for nature and our community!”

“Brilliant initiative, Cambridge needs so much more green space for nature.”

We need to raise £30,000 in order to begin to transform arable farmland on the western edge of Cambridge into new habitats that are rich in nature, help to mitigate climate change and improve community well-being.

Cambridgeshire is one of the most nature depleted places in the UK, it has one of the lowest amounts of tree cover and people have limited free access to large areas of nature. Cambridge was also the 5th fastest growing city in the last decade with plans for this rate of growth to continue for several decades.

Donate Now

This rapid growth is putting significant pressure on the environment and people. To help tackle these challenges, our vision is to transform farmland that we own (part of Coton Countryside Reserve) and create a large-scale area of ‘wild-belt’ on the edge of Cambridge for wildlife and nature, that mitigates climate change and improves community well-being by providing access to nature and attractive green space.

We are planning to transform 27 acres of arable farmland into a mix of wetland, meadows and woodland and we need to raise funds to pay for this work.

We have set a target of raising £30,000 in public donations towards the overall costs of £190,000.

Donate now and be part of helping to create a wilder future in Cambridge for wildlife and everyone in the city to enjoy.

Your donation will help to pay for:

preparing the ground, sowing 20 acres of wildflower seeds to create new meadows
planting 5 acres of new woodland
creating a new wetland to capture pollution & reduce flooding
providing the infrastructure so that the community can enjoy the new habitats

Donate Now

Once the funds are in place, we are hoping that some of the work will begin in autumn 2024.

The new greenspace that will be created will provide free public access to nature via paths, open access and viewing areas. The project is part of a larger vision to help nature recover in and around Cambridge, called the Cambridge Nature Network, which aims to double nature by 2050.

Our new project at Coton Reserve will benefit people from across Cambridge by giving them enhanced access to nature but especially those moving into new housing being built nearby. The Reserve will provide a greenspace for these new communities and an opportunity for them to come together with others to create the new habitats and to care for them over the long-term.