Getting Started
Actions for Nature
Welcome to the Actions for Nature platform – your digital companion for creating wilder gardens and greenspaces across Sussex. This guide will help you register your space, explore actions to support wildlife, and keep track of your progress. It will also help Weald to Waves understand how our collective actions are improving connectivity across the landscape.
My Gardens & Greenspaces
The My Gardens & Greenspaces page is the starting point for taking part in Actions for Nature.
Add your Space
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Each garden you add appears as a card showing key details and progress
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You can add multiple spaces if you’re involved in more than one location
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Each space gets its own tailored list of Actions for Nature
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As you report on actions, you’ll see visual progress bars and summaries
✅ To get started, click “Add Garden” and enter a few basic details. We’ll check the postcode to make sure it’s within our Sussex project area. Once confirmed, your space will appear on your dashboard, ready to explore.
Actions For Nature
Once you’ve added a garden, head to the Actions for Nature page to explore different ways you can support wildlife in your space.
On this page:
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Each category card shows a summary of your progress for that garden
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Click any category to view a list of related actions
💡 These progress summaries will become more useful as you begin reporting. For now, just explore the categories that interest you most.
- Each individual Action for Nature page is designed to guide and inspire, whether you are getting started or want to take your actions further. There are plenty of tips and links to further learning. Enjoy looking around!
- After reading the Introductions to each category, explore the individual Actions for Nature pages in any order — just pick what feels right for your space and goals.
Track and Report Your Progress
Each Action for Nature page includes a Reporting function at the top for your garden or greenspace. Click on this and you can tell us what stage you’re at with that action, using a short status update and comment.
Note: All actions begin with the “To do” status. This means you haven’t added any updates yet.
All actions begin with the “To do” status. This means you haven’t added any updates yet.
Once you choose a status and add a short comment, your progress will be recorded and the visual meters on your garden and category cards will start to update. This can help you keep track and feel motivated, and it gives us a real-world snapshot of how our members are supporting nature across Sussex. It will also help us understand what resources we can develop further to help you progress in future.
Status Options & Examples
Here are some example comments to give you an idea of how to report under different statuses:
Starting
🔧 You’ve made a plan and are preparing to begin.
“Bought wildflower seed mix and cleared the patch last weekend.”
Implementing
🌿 You’re currently doing this action.
“Started planting a hedge. Halfway there!”
Completed
✅ You’ve completed the action.
“Lifted a paving slab and planted some herbs.”
Completed and Progressing
🔁 When you select Completed, you’ll also see an option to tick “I want to progress this further”. Think of this as “I’ve already done this action — but the story is still evolving.”
We encourage you to take this option as it is designed to give you the opportunity to take your actions further and add more complexity and dynamism to your space to support even more species. It will also help you observe ongoing results or seasonal changes (e.g. “I have made and installed a bee hotel which is attracting cavity nesting bees, but I’m now planning to add a bee bank in a sunny spot for solitary mining bees” or “I already have a wildlife pond but plan to add a nearby bog garden to support more species”).
Passing
🚫 You’re unable to take this action right now.
“We’re in a rented flat and not allowed to replace the hard landscaping features.”
This reporting is still helpful — it shows what’s realistic and what’s not for our members in different settings.
Let's get going!
Actions for Nature is a meeting place where you can tell us what’s happening in your garden or greenspace right now, whether you’re starting out or you’ve been taking these actions for years.
You don’t need to work through every status in order. If you’ve already completed something, feel free to go straight to “Completed” and tell us what you’ve done (e.g. “We’ve had a pond for years — it’s full of wildlife! Just added some native planting around the edge.”) Whether it’s a small update or a long-term project, use this as your personal garden journal — and as a way to share your wonderful journey with us.
🌿 Finally, nature moves in seasons — and so do we. We want to help you reflect, revisit, or refresh your goals when the time feels right. As part of helping you stay connected with your garden journey, the platform includes a gentle reminder system. If you haven’t updated the status of an action in over 6 months, that action will be marked with a small label: “Follow up required.” This is just a friendly nudge — not a warning or deadline! It’s just a reminder to ask if anything has changed or progressed.