Allestree Park Rewilding: Qualitative evaluation report

Abstract

The following evaluation was requested by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust (DWT) to enable findings to be drawn together from a variety of data sources aimed to elicit thoughts and feelings about the Allestree Park rewilding project from members of the public. Data was gathered in several ways. Firstly, members of the DWT team spoke with groups (e.g. the Friends of Allestree Park, groups at Darley Abbey, Swanick and at a Lake celebration at the Allestree Park). Secondly, community conversations events were held at the park and people passing volunteered to share their thoughts. At both of these, people’s verbal comments were noted down and open questions from questionnaires they completed were later transcribed. Thirdly, interviews were conducted with ten people who were recruited to take part via posters at Allestree Park, noticeboards at other Derby Parks, social media posts and DWT’s volunteering platform. Recruitment was conducted over 10 weeks and the inclusion criteria stipulated that participants needed to be over 18. Interviews were conducted via MS teams and were transcribed for data analysis. The aim of the evaluation was to ascertain the perceptions of the rewilding project within its first year. The data was generated from November 2024-June 2025