Stroud Valleys Project

11/06/2026

11/06/2026

⏳Last chance! There are just FOUR spaces remaining on our Dry Stone Walling Taster Weekend - including free lunch! - and you have just one day left to book your place!

At £150, this represents excellent value for a two-day course, and it's set in countryside between Stroud and Nailsworth so is easy to reach.

If you'd like to try your hand at this heritage Cotswold craft at the same time as supporting Stroud Valleys Project's work to keep people and nature thriving together, book your place now!

DATE CHANGE! Due to a forecast of wet weather, we have changed the date for this event. It will now take place on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 June. Dry stone waller Kirsty Donnelly will teach participants how to create a dry stone wall that will endure for decades. You’ll learn how to stand and move

10/06/2026

We're just back from running a Carers in Nature session so thought we'd share a little bit about this project - it's currently Carers Week 2026 when people are encouraged to think about all the unpaid carers in our community and the huge amount of work they do.

Our Carers in Nature sessions provide an opportunity for carers to spend time in nature, proven to be so important for mental and physical wellbeing. People take part in activities such as nature crafts, mindfulness exercises and gardening, and can also meet and chat with others who are experiencing similar issues - perhaps enjoying a cup of tea and listening to the birdsong.

Today one of our participants said:
I enjoyed today so much - thank you. It's so good to get out. I could perhaps plant some pots at home but it wouldn't be the same doing it on my own - it's so much nicer doing it as part of a group.

Our sessions take place at various Carer Cafes and other locations across the Stroud District - contact [email protected] if you’d like to get involved.

SVP is grateful to Gloucestershire County Council’s support for this project, in association with Gloucestershire Carers Hub, Carer Aware, NHS Gloucestershire and One Gloucestershire.

10/06/2026

to Do you want to support a local charity that helps local people AND creates and improves green spaces for nature?

Why not sign up as a Friend of Stroud Valleys Project? For just £3 a month, you can help us defend nature, right here in Stroud, to keep our planet and our local communities thriving.

What's more, if you become a Friend of SVP before Thursday 18 June, you'll go into a prize draw to WIN a family ticket for Stroud's very own local festival, Chalfest!

Chalfest is a real community celebration, and this year they have some huge names, including M People's Heather Small, Tynchy Stryder, and festival faves Dick and Dom.

Support Stroud Valleys Project AND be in with a chance to WIN! Just visit our website to find out more.

https://www.stroudvalleysproject.org/news/become-a-friend-of-svp-and-win-a-family-ticket-for-chalfest

09/06/2026

Death is a natural part of life 🌳

There is something quietly profound about the fact that natural burial grounds are places where life thrives. 🌱

We've been thinking about this lately - and revisiting a story from our blog about a frog found at the bottom of a grave just before a funeral. A small, unexpected moment of life in a place we might only associate with loss. 🐸

Natural burial allows us to give something back. The grave becomes part of a living landscape - wildflowers, grasses, insects, birds. A place that, over time, belongs to nature as much as to memory.🌸

It's one of the reasons we are proud to be corporate supporters of the Stroud Valleys Project, working to protect and restore the wildlife and wild places of our local area.

Read "Life in the Grave" on our website news page:
👉 https://www.familytreefunerals.co.uk/2017/11/06/life-in-the-grave/

🌱

08/06/2026

Great Big Green Week is all about tackling climate change and protecting nature... and here at Stroud Valleys Project, we do that all year round.

If you'd like to support our work, now is the time: you could WIN a family ticket for Chalfest!

Not only would you be contributing to our district-wide work to keep nature thriving, you'll also be helping communities to pull together for biodiversity, supporting people to gain new skills, and helping spread the word about protecting our wildlife.

You can become a Friend of Stroud Valleys Project from as little as £3 per month... and if you sign up before Thursday 18 June, your name will go into a prize draw to WIN a family ticket for Chalfest!

https://www.stroudvalleysproject.org/news/become-a-friend-of-svp-and-win-a-family-ticket-for-chalfest

To buy tickets for Chalfest, click here: https://www.ticketfairy.com/event/chalfest-2026-17jul2026/

08/06/2026

Play the Lucky Severn Lottery and win a £1,000 Last-Minute Getaway

Playing the Lucky Severn Lottery helps Stroud Valleys Project raise funds to continue to improve green spaces and nature in the Stroud area. There’s a £25,000 jackpot if you’re lucky enough to match all six numbers, as well as an assortment of other smaller cash prizes, and at the end of June there’s a special prize to be won: a £1,000 last minute getaway!

From Cornwall beach breaks and cosy Lake District cottages to exciting West End weekends, your perfect early-summer escape could be waiting. Already have your getaway booked? Don’t worry, you can take the £1,000 cash prize alternative.

Enter before Saturday 27 June for your chance to win.

Buy your tickets at https://www.luckysevernlottery.co.uk/support/stroud-valleys-project

07/06/2026

We're feelin' groovy at the Nature and Environment Day at Spice community space in Stonehouse. Our Match the Name to the Creature activity is proving popular and there's plenty for everyone to do. Come along and say hello... we're here until 3pm.

07/06/2026

The Bank of England are asking people to choose which wildlife pictures to put on the next series of banknotes. It's open until July 3rd 2026. Follow the link below, have a look at the nomination list and make your choice!

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/help-us-design-our-next-series-of-banknotes

06/06/2026

Seedling Swap

Saturday 13 June

10am – 12pm

Stroud Valleys Project Eco Shop

Do you have any spare or unwanted seedlings? Give them a good home through Stroud Valleys Project’s seedling swap/sale. Bring along any seedlings that you have spare and exchange them for others. Both vegetable and flower varieties are welcome.

Even if you don’t have any seedlings to swap, you can still take some for a donation. It’s a great way to meet other gardeners and to share advice and knowledge.

Outside Stroud Valleys Project Eco Shop, 8 Threadneedle Street, Stroud GL5 1AF