Your stories
We're committed to everyone having the opportunity to experience wildlife and to develop a connection with it, and to learn skills to enhance and protect it themselves.
Hear from the individuals, families and communities that GWT's Engagement team have worked with.
Through the 2019 Wild Welcome project
In the Wild Welcome project, we worked with refugees and asylum seekers in Gloucester, helping to introduce new residents to their local green spaces and connect them with nature. Throughout this project, we worked closely with the Tazini family, who helped connect other new families to our work and even help with translation! We asked the Tazini family to tell us about their experience of a Wild Welcome to Gloucester.
Ibrahim, a second officer on Merchant Vessels, and his wife Amany, a sociology teacher, came to Gloucester from Syria in 2017. Supported by Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (GARAS), along with their children, Abdul, Mariya and Ahmad, they were one of the first families to attend GWT's Wild Welcome project and have been champions since the beginning.
How has life changed for you since you first arrived in Gloucester?
Amany: The people here are kind. It’s a safe place. I like that there are lots of trees and lots of different places to explore. I feel safe here.
What have some of your highlights been since coming to Wild Welcome?
Ibrahim: My family liked the planting work we did in public [Barton Street, Gloucester].
Ahmad: Going to Cotswold Water Park to row was my idea. It was really fun being on the water.
Abdul: I loved the fast and exciting rowing we did at the water park. I’m happy because I was nervous at first but I tried it and didn’t give up!
Amany: Mine was our visit to Crickley Hill where all the families did a wildlife quiz around the woods, and there was so much space for the children to play.
In what ways has being part of Wild Welcome made you think about Gloucestershire’s wildlife?
Amany: I loved to see the cows up at Crickley Hill.
Abdul: The horses at St James City Farm were my favourites.
Ahmad: I saw my first deer the other day [in the Forest of Dean] – it was so exciting and big!
Ibrahim: I’ve spent more time in nature since coming to Wild Welcome. I would like to come to many more events like this.
You’ve done so many things with Wild Welcome. What would you like to do next?
Abdul: I want to go to a big farm with loads of space and where everyone is having lots of fun and a BBQ!