ABOUT

It began on an ordinary afternoon at Weekley Hall Wood — a place I was helping to protect with a small team of campaigners. The wind raced through the trees, the clouds swept across the sky, and that’s when I saw it: a sheep lying on its back, legs stiff in the air.

Anyone who knows the countryside knows what that means. A ‘cast’ sheep cannot right itself and will die without help. I knelt, rolled it gently upright, and watched it stagger to its feet. Almost without thinking, I said, “Take care — I’ll see you on Sunday,” meaning on my dinner plate.

A few steps later, the weight of those words struck me. How could I save a life one moment and end it the next? Within a week, I had stopped eating meat, and by the following Sunday, I had become vegan.

That small act of compassion revealed a larger truth: caring for nature cannot be selective, and empathy is not a feeling but a commitment. From that moment, I resolved to act — to protect, to restore, and to give voice to the natural world in ways I could.

This commitment became Kettering Nature Group. The name is an invitation: to stand with me, to engage with the world around us, and to care for nature in whatever way one can. While I am the driving force, KNG is supported by Directors who ensure it is run effectively, and by volunteers who give their time freely because they believe in the mission. Their dedication turns vision into action and creates a structure capable of delivering meaningful projects.

Over the years, KNG has grown into a recognised local voice for nature. 

Through the #NaturallyKettering campaign, kng leadS projects such as ‘Swift Streets’, returning nesting birds to rooftops, and Neighbourhood Nature Collaboratives, connecting gardens and green spaces into living corridors for wildlife. Every initiative combines education with practical action, creativity with conservation, and inspiration with results.

Ibelieve that local initiatives are far more effective than distant global campaigns. Stories of Polar bears or melting ice caps are tragic but abstract; real change begins when people can see, touch, and belong to the nature around them - the birds outside their window, the hedgehog under their fence, the wildflowers pushing through cracks in the pavement.

Building on this, I created WREN - the Wildlife Rescue & Emergency Network - to extend KNG’s mission into urgent, hands-on care for injured and vulnerable wildlife. WREN ensures that help reaches those who cannot speak for themselves, bridging the gap between observation and intervention.

The Festival of Nature is part of a 10-year plan to create a nature education hub - a living space where locals and visitors can experience, learn, and be inspired. The hub will feature community gardens, cafes producing local goods, a wildlife rehabilitation and ambulance centre, interactive learning spaces, outdoor classrooms, demonstration wildlife gardens, exhibition spaces, maker studios, creative workshops, and venues for arts, education, and community events. It will demonstrate how conservation, learning, and everyday life can coexist, offering a model for how a town can embrace nature at its core.

Kettering Nature Group is, at its heart, my personal mission: to do what I can for the living world, while inviting others to walk alongside me. Volunteers, supporters, and Directors all play a role, yet the spark, the drive, and the vision originate from a single moment of clarity - when a sheep reminded me what it means to truly care.

If you believe in the power of local action, the beauty and fragility of the natural world, and the difference one person can make, then join me. Plant something. Rescue something. Protect something. Share your time, your energy, and your voice. Because one quiet act of care can change everything - and together, through KNG, WREN, and our growing projects, we can create a Kettering where nature thrives.

Adam Riley

KNG Director