KNG

04/09/2026

This is the 'Bugcote' that the residents at Countryview Nursing Home and I have been working on. We started out making a traditiional Dovecote, but soon decided it would be better to provide homes for a multitude of species.
The 3 bottom chambers have been filled with sticks, logs and bamboo canes - providing safe homes for many insects. The top 3 chambers are currently left open - I shall be adding a Blue Tit box, Great Tit box and a space for butterflies.
The top is hollow with 2 small openings - I am hoping that something will make a home in there in time. (I'd like wasps to make a nest in there, but not sure my friemds at Countryview do!)

As with the Swift boxes, Bat boxes, Bee hammocks and everything else we have worked on this was made by me as a set of components which the residents assembled and finished. I couldn't be prouder of what we've achieved together. Next up is a hedgehog house or 2!

04/09/2026

Meet Pijjy

04/09/2026

Absolutely love spending time with my friends at Countryview Nursing Home. They've recently been awarded a Wildlife Garden award by Ellen at The Wildlife Trust BCN.
Now the Bugcote is up, we'll be making some hedgehog houses and more Swift boxes to install around Kettering.

Kettering Town Council
Kettering Central
Nene Rivers Trust
New Gap Charitable Trust
Northants Telegraph
North Northamptonshire Council
BBC Northamptonshire
The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants
Northants 1

27/08/2026

It's not all about Swift boxes and bat walks here at KNG.

WREN, which Adam set up earlier this year, is now beginning to care for animals alongside wildlife rescue, coordination and transport.
It's very early days for this new apsect of WREN, but right now, that means two very hungry little squabs named Pijjy and Titch, who will be staying at WREN HQ until they're old enough and strong enough to be released back into the wild.

If you'd like to help, donations towards food, care and rehabilitation are always appreciated. You can also help with the fuel costs of the hundreds of miles covered each month rescuing and transporting wildlife.

Every contribution helps keep WREN moving and ensures that animals like Pijjy and Titch get the care they need.

https://www.wren-northants.org/donate

Look at these two cuties!

These squabs will be staying with us here at WREN HQ until they've grown enough to be released. Say hello to Pijjy and Titch.

If you'd like to help us care for these little ones, donations towards their food and care would be hugely appreciated. You can also help towards the fuel costs of the hundreds of miles we cover every month, rescuing, transporting and caring for wildlife.

Every contribution helps us keep doing what we do and gives animals like Pijjy and Titch the best possible start before they return to the wild.

https://www.wren-northants.org/donate

27/08/2026

Yesterday, I installed four new double swift boxes at Pear Tree Court in Rothwell, creating eight potential new nest spaces for swifts.

The installation has been carefully planned around the existing swift colony in the area, particularly the nesting sites around Rothwell Church.

Two of the boxes are on the south-facing aspect of the building, directly within the flight path of the existing nesting spaces. Positioning new boxes where swifts are already regularly flying past gives them the best chance of being noticed and investigated. Because this wall receives significant direct sunlight, the boxes on this aspect were fitted with additional solar thermal regulation measures to help manage temperatures during hot weather.

The other boxes are on the north-facing aspect, providing naturally cooler nesting conditions and more traditionally favourable positioning.

As I finished the installation, six swifts were seen overhead in the late afternoon sunshine, with a sparrowhawk also passing above. A fitting reminder of exactly why creating and protecting nesting opportunities matters.

A big thank you to Pear Tree Court for hosting the boxes, and to Kim and Kirstin, Rothwell Swift Street Co-ordinators, along with everyone who helped during the installation.

Eight new potential nest spaces are now in place. Hopefully, in the years ahead, these boxes will help support Rothwell's swifts as part of a growing network of safe nesting sites.

I'll keep chipping away at the 1000 box target - the next big install planned is a cluster in Kettering Town Centre, around Kingsley Avenue and surrounding streets.

16/08/2026

STALLHOLDERS WANTED | MIDLANDS FESTIVAL OF NATURE 2027

We’re now looking for stallholders, makers, activity providers, community groups and food traders to join us for the Midlands Festival of Nature 2027.

Taking place at Wicksteed Park, Kettering, on Saturday 29 May 2027, the festival is organised and delivered by Kettering Nature Group (KNG) and brings together people, organisations and businesses with a genuine connection to nature and the environment.

We’re particularly interested in:

Nature-focused organisations and conservation groups
Nature-inspired and sustainable crafts
Wildlife and nature activities for families and children
Natural, locally produced and environmentally responsible products
Artists and makers inspired by the natural world
Interactive activities, demonstrations and experiences
Nature-friendly, ethical and locally sourced food and drink Independent food traders with a strong sustainability ethos

We want the festival to feel different from a conventional craft fair or commercial event. Nature should be at the heart of what you do.

If you make, sell, demonstrate, teach or serve something that fits that ethos, we’d like to hear from you.

Saturday 29 May 2027
Wicksteed Park, Kettering
Midlands Festival of Nature 2027
Featured conservation organisation: BTO

If you’re interested in having a stall, email us at [email protected] and we’ll send you further information about the event and how to apply.

Organised & delivered by Kettering Nature Group.


Kettering Town Council
Mayor of Kettering
Kettering Library
Wicksteed Park

12/08/2026

I need some help to grow WREN
WREN, the Wildlife WREN - Wildlfe Rescue & Emergency Network is already up and running.

It works.

We have a central point of contact, case management, triage processes and relationships with wildlife rescue, veterinary and rehabilitation organisations.
The problem isn't that WREN doesn't work.
The problem is that it is currently limited by the number of people available to make it work.
I want to change that.

I want WREN to become the wildlife emergency service I know it could be.
A service covering much more of Northamptonshire.
A service where someone finding an injured, sick or distressed wild animal has somewhere reliable to turn.
A service that can provide the right advice, coordinate a response where needed, arrange transport and connect animals with the appropriate vet, wildlife hospital or rehabilitator.
We have started that process.
Now I need to grow it.

To grow WREN, I need a small number of people who can help me develop the service itself.
Not necessarily people working on the frontline.
People who can help me think about how WREN should grow.
People who can bring experience, ideas and different perspectives.
People who can help develop the network, improve our systems, build partnerships, work out how we recruit and support people, and help establish WREN across Northamptonshire.
You don't need to be a wildlife expert.

The other side of this is the operational network.
I need people who want to become part of WREN as call handlers, wildlife responders and transporters.
Call handlers who can help deal with incoming wildlife emergencies and make sure cases are properly triaged.
Responders who can provide practical help when an animal needs to be assessed, contained or safely moved.
Transporters who can help get animals from the point of rescue to vets, wildlife hospitals and rehabilitators.
We need different people with different skills, availability and experience.

You don't have to be able to do everything.
You don't even necessarily need extensive wildlife experience.
What matters is being reliable, sensible, willing to learn and able to work as part of a network.
Some people might be able to take calls.
Some might be able to respond to incidents.
Some might be able to transport animals.
Some might have a few hours a month to help develop the service itself.
There is a place for different skills and different levels of involvement.

What I don't want to create is another WhatsApp group where everyone waits for somebody else to deal with the problem.
I want WREN to become a functioning network.
Clear roles.
Clear processes.
Appropriate training.
Reliable communication.
People who know what they are expected to do and who can rely on the rest of the network.
That takes time and work to develop.
And it takes people.

At the moment, WREN is largely limited by one thing.
Capacity.
The demand is there.
The system works.
The need is obvious.
But I cannot simultaneously answer every call, coordinate every case, recruit the network, develop the systems, build partnerships and grow WREN on my own.
I need people who can help me take some of that work forward.
Not because WREN isn't working.
Because it is working, and I want it to work at a much larger scale.

WREN is part of Kettering Nature Group's longer-term ambition to develop proper wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and conservation infrastructure for the region.
The eventual vision is much bigger than a telephone number.
It includes a dedicated rehabilitation facility and sanctuary, veterinary capability and a much wider network of people and organisations supporting wildlife.
But we have to grow the infrastructure one piece at a time.
WREN is one of those pieces.
If you think you could help me grow it, whether by helping shape the service or becoming a call handler, responder or transporter, please get in touch.
I'm looking for the right people, not simply lots of people.



Kettering Town Council
New Gap Charitable Trust
Nene Rivers Trust
North Northamptonshire Council
Northants Telegraph
Hanwood Park
BBC Northamptonshire

08/08/2026

You may have noticed that KNG has been a little quieter than usual over the last few months...

That's because, behind the scenes, we've been working on something big.

May's Midlands Festival of Nature kicked off a hectic run of public engagement events, with the KNG team out and about every weekend. Since that run came to an end, we've turned our attention to something we believe could transform the way Kettering works for nature.

Introducing KetPaNReP.

The Kettering Parish Nature Recovery Plan.
Drawing on four years of work through KNG's programme, we've brought together ecological knowledge, local records, mapping, community experience and our existing nature recovery framework to develop a comprehensive plan for nature across the town.
But this isn't just a document.

We've also been building KetPaNReP Connect, a new digital platform designed to bring residents, community groups and organisations together to share knowledge, identify opportunities and work collaboratively to make Kettering a better place for nature.

The Plan has been developed by KNG as a key delivery partner in the Kettering Parish Nature Recovery Partnership, and we're now getting ready to share it much more widely.

This is the next chapter of .
And we can't wait to show you what we've been working on, and more excitingly, see where you can take it.

Kettering Town Council
North Northamptonshire Council
Northants Telegraph
Northamptonshire Badger Group
WREN - Wildlfe Rescue & Emergency Network
Natural-Ise
William Street Community Garden (England)
Nene Rivers Trust
KNG
Love Kettering
Em-powering Kettering

07/08/2026