The Cirencester Wildlife Group received multiple entries for this year’s competition.
The initiative asked people to showcase how any outdoor space, no matter how small, can support wildlife.
Chairperson of the Cirencester Wildlife Group, Melanie Dodd, said the competition celebrated ‘connections – between people, plants, animals and green spaces’, creating a ‘living network of life throughout the town’.
The winners were announced on Sunday, November 23 during a prize-giving event at Ingleside House.
The town mayor, alongside members of the Project Orpheus team and the wildlife group, praised participants for their collective efforts to enhance nature.
The Project Orpheus manager, Stuart Price, commended all the entries that demonstrated how ‘transformation starts locally’.
He said entrants created real habitats for pollinators, birds and small mammals.
The individual first-prize winner was Carolyn Ritchings, whose garden was described as a ‘wildlife wonderland’.
The judges were taken by her garden’s story of hedgehog families, visiting otters and loyal robins Scruffy and Tidy.
Her dedicated morning routine of a stress-relieving walk around her garden particularly captured the hearts of the judging panel.
The group category saw a joint first-place win for Cirencester College and Ann Edwards Primary School, while the first runner-up title went to 1st South Cerney Beavers and Cirencester Town Council.
Each entry highlighted how gardening and nature-inspired projects bring calm, energy and engagement to their respective settings.
Cirencester College showcased the benefits of student-led habitat creation, from wildflower planting to ponds and even beekeeping.
Both joint winners will receive Wild Ciren advice and support for their next projects.
Some of the most notable quotes from participants included Mylan Lester’s mantra for gardening: “The greater the variety of plants, the better – and don’t rake up every last leaf.”
And Hans Schlappa, who said: “We thought, let’s have a rain garden… We’re working towards a more sustainable urban lifestyle.”
The competition has shown how Cirencester’s green spaces, large and small, are helping wildlife thrive—and inspiring others to bring nature back into their own gardens.
Comments are closed.