Become an Isleham

Nature Detectorist

The Friends of Isleham Nature Reserves was originally established as a group to help maintain the area around the disused railway line between Isleham and Fordham. We now look after the Community Orchard, the pond at East Fen Road, the Wash, the Millenium Wood, trees at the corner of Church Lane and the hedge along Coates Drove, which was planted by the group in 2019 with help from local people. We are now expanding further and aiming to increase the biodiversity of the parish through the development of a Community Nature Recovery Plan with the Parish Council.

We need you to become a Nature Detectorist and help us expand our efforts.

Isleham is full of hidden opportunities for nature to thrive – and the people best placed to find them are the ones who walk its paths, live on its streets, and love its landscapes. That means you.

We are building a team of Nature Detectorists: local residents who want to protect, restore, and re‑imagine the natural world right on their doorstep. You don’t need expertise. You don’t need equipment. You just need curiosity, care, and the willingness to take part.

🌿What is a Nature Detectorist? A Nature Detectorist is a neighbour who notices things – a verge that could hold wildflowers, a ditch that could support frogs, a hedgerow gap that could shelter birds.

Like metal detectorists uncover hidden treasure, Nature Detectorists uncover hidden potential for increasing nature (biodiversity). Together, we identify opportunities such as:

• Planting hedgerows or native trees
• Restoring ponds or creating new ones
• Improving streams, ditches and wetlands
• Enhancing woodland
• Supporting wildlife‑friendly gardens
• Installing bird or bat boxes
• Identifying land for community nature spaces

This is neighbours working together to protect the places they love.

Come to our event to find out more. Please book your ticket.

The Friends of Isleham Nature Reserves Isleham is one of the pilot parishes of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Nature Recovery from the Ground Up Project. Click here for more information.

SSECAM – Sustainable South East Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas – is a not-for-profit, Community Interest Company (CIC) that is facilitating the development of nature recovery projects across East Cambridgeshire