How Asylum Seekers and Nature Charities Are Restoring UK Habitats Together
Affiliate Disclosure
Hey fellow impactful ninja ?
You may have noticed that Impactful Ninja is all about providing helpful information to make a positive impact on the world and society. And that we love to link back to where we found all the information for each of our posts.
Most of these links are informational-based for you to check out their primary sources with one click.
But some of these links are so-called "affiliate links" to products that we recommend.
Why do we add these product links?
First and foremost, because we believe that they add value to you. For example, when we wrote a post about the environmental impact of long showers, we came across an EPA recommendation to use WaterSense showerheads. So we linked to where you can find them. Or, for many of our posts, we also link to our favorite books on that topic so that you can get a much more holistic overview than one single blog post could provide.
And when there is an affiliate program for these products, we sign up for it. For example, as Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.
What do these affiliate links mean for you?
First, and most importantly, we still only recommend products that we believe add value for you.
When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission - but at no additional costs to you.
And when you buy something through a link that is not an affiliate link, we won’t receive any commission but we’ll still be happy to have helped you.
What do these affiliate links mean for us?
When we find products that we believe add value to you and the seller has an affiliate program, we sign up for it.
When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission (at no extra costs to you).
And at this point in time, all money is reinvested in sharing the most helpful content with you. This includes all operating costs for running this site and the content creation itself.
What does this mean for me personally?
You may have noticed by the way Impactful Ninja is operated that money is not the driving factor behind it. It is a passion project of mine and I love to share helpful information with you to make a positive impact on the world and society. However, it's a project in that I invest a lot of time and also quite some money.
Eventually, my dream is to one day turn this passion project into my full-time job and provide even more helpful information. But that's still a long time to go.
Stay impactful,
At Impactful Ninja, we curate positive and impactful news for you. Add Impactful Ninja as a preferred source on Google or sign up for our free newsletter to get these delivered straight to your inbox—just like our expert roundup below!
📰 The quick summary: Nature charities and refugee organizations across England and Wales have joined forces to bring asylum seekers into environmental volunteering, restoring habitats while building community belonging and mental wellbeing.
📈 One key stat: A £1.62 million National Lottery grant will fund over 3,000 volunteers and 120 large-scale climate action events across England and Wales over the next three years, significantly scaling up the program’s reach.
💬 One key quote: “When you plant a tree, it does not matter who you are or where you came from. Your hands are in the soil, and you belong to the planet as a human being. We don’t just plant trees. We plant belonging, and we plant purpose,” said Jane, a refugee and lead ambassador for the initiative.
1️⃣ The big picture: In the UK, environmental charities and refugee support organizations have built a model that brings asylum seekers and local residents together to restore nature. Through beach cleans, tree planting, and habitat restoration, participants remove invasive species, grow food, and help revive ecosystems across England and Wales. Action Asylum, a national project delivered by the Task Force Trust, has run this program since 2020, working in cities like Leeds, Portsmouth, and Stockton-on-Tees. A new £1.62 million grant from the National Lottery’s climate action fund will allow the program to expand into Sheffield, Newcastle, and Bolton over the next three years. At a time when community tensions around asylum seekers remain high in parts of the UK, the initiative offers a practical path toward cohesion through shared environmental action.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: Asylum seekers, who often face isolation and limited access to community life, gain a meaningful sense of purpose and connection through hands-on nature work, with participants reporting real boosts in confidence and wellbeing. Local ecosystems directly benefit as volunteers clear invasive species like Himalayan balsam, restore riverbanks, and plant trees in areas of outstanding natural beauty. Bringing refugees and local residents together in shared outdoor work helps rebuild trust and community bonds at a moment when social cohesion is fragile. Scaling the program to reach more than 3,000 volunteers and 120 large events means the positive impact on both people and nature will grow substantially across the country. At a broader level, this model shows that nature recovery and social inclusion can reinforce each other, offering a blueprint for how environmental programs can serve both ecological and human needs simultaneously.
3️⃣ What’s next: Over the next three years, the program will expand into Sheffield, Newcastle, and Bolton, adding to existing projects already running in Leeds, Portsmouth, Stockton-on-Tees, and elsewhere. Action Asylum plans to run 120 large-scale climate action events and engage more than 3,000 volunteers across England and Wales. As the program grows, it aims to deepen partnerships between environmental and refugee organizations, strengthening a model that other regions could eventually adopt.
Read the full story here: The Guardian – ‘We plant belonging’: how nature charities and asylum seekers work together in UK countryside
