Plans for a £10,000 community project in the Mangotsfield area of South Gloucestershire were unveiled today by its sponsor, local housebuilder Cotswold Homes Ltd.

The project is the brainchild of Penney Ellis, the 43-year-old South African art graduate of Oxford Brookes University. Currently she is the resident artist at the Pound Arts Centre in Corsham, Wiltshire, where her work has an emphasis on community and environment.

Penney competed with 25 rivals who submitted bids for the commission to a selection panel comprising representatives of South Gloucestershire Council – which initiated the project – and Cotswold Homes which is building new homes in Mangotsfield.

The firm’s Wildwood development – named to reflect the number of mature trees on the site – occupies the site of the former Blackhorse Day Centre, adjacent to the Resound church and community centre on the junction of Blackhorse Road and Westerleigh Road.

In response to the Cotswold Homes brief, Penney proposed a community project, dubbed Wildwood – Natural Neighbours which aims to encourage social engagement and a sense of responsibility for the local environment by providing opportunities for the community to explore, monitor and document their local ecology.

The project includes installing a community weather station as well as environmentally-themed workshops at Resound and in local schools.

Says Penney: ‘In addition to managing the weather station, I will be organising seasonal events at Resound, themed around the local ecology. Local experts and enthusiasts will be invited to share their knowledge on topics such as biodiversity and the local ecology. 

‘A host of wildlife adventures will take place from early spring for explorers of all ages to find out about birds, bugs, bats, trees, hedgerows, grasses and the amazing variety of life surrounding Wildwood.’

Penney Ellis who has been selected to develop a £10,000 community project sponsored by Cotswold Homes Ltd in the Mangotsfield area of South Gloucestershire.