Gardens can be real wildlife sanctuaries - mini Serengetis for wildlife. In London, for example, about one fifth of the total area is covered with gardens. Put together, they make important wildlife habitats and corridors where wildlife can pass from one habitat to another.
Gardens are important for species as varied as Stag Beetles, Greater-spotted Woodpeckers, Hedgehogs and Noctule Bats.
Wildlife gardens add colour, vibrancy and a peaceful atmosphere for the stressed-out city dweller. They offer connection to nature and a multi-sensory experience, all-too-often lost in the urban jungle.
As rural wildlife is lost to development, disturbance, agriculture and pollution, it is important to conserve and rebuild the variety of life - biodiversity - around us. Everyone can become involved. As people are increasingly city dwellers, the importance of urban conservation is growing.
So the city is the new countryside. Get out and get gardening.
There are many simple, practical and cost-effective ways of gardening to protect the environment. They include:
- Making a compost heap from household and garden waste (but do watch out for rats and don't burn it in the autumn without checking for hibernating Hedgehogs and other animals first).
- Making mulches from shredded or chipped bark, gravel or grass cuttings.
- Having an energy efficient greenhouse.
- Using peat-free composts - Many peat bogs, ancient and specialized habitats, are threatened by people removing the peat in large quantities for use in gardens. There are many peat-free alternatives on the market including those based on coconut fibre.
- Using butts to collect rain water from the shed and house roofs. In hot weather, water the garden in the evening with the rainwater. Use watering cans rather than garden hoses and sprinklers.
- Growing plants that produces lots of nuts, seeds and fruits. These include Oak, Hazel, Apple and Cotoneaster and Elder (birds love the berries). Bullfinches, for example, particularly like Teasel seeds.
Making five star hotels for insects and other minibeasts. Rotting wood, fallen fruit, leaf litter, Oak, Beech and Nettle stands all harbour rich minibeast communities. Dead wood is a particularly important habitat for rare Stag Beetles.- By sinking dead wood stumps in the garden, Stag Beetles may be encouraged to breed in areas where they occur. Rotting wood piles are great hibernation and over wintering spots for everything from bugs to frogs, toads and newts.
- Some five star wildlife hotels may be purchased. There are now many nest boxes on the market for birds, bats, toads and even Hedgehogs.
- Planting hedges and dense shrubbery that birds from Blackbirds to various finches will nest and roost in. Don't plant the dreaded Leylandii, instead try Hawthorn, Ivy, Holly and Privet. Many tree species support large numbers of minibeast species. Over 200 insect species are associated with both Birch and willows. Willows are also a good natural, sustainable resource for fencing, sculptures and general wood work.
- Creating a wildflower meadow. There are many seed mixes on the market and plants can also be bought ready to place in the ground. It is a good idea to have areas of long and short grass in the garden. Birds like thrushes can hunt for worms in the short grass, and the long grass will provide a home and corridor for many minibeasts from insects and amphibians to small mammals.
- Wildflower meadow species might include Yarrow, Harebell, Greater Knapweed (popular with butterflies), Meadow Cranes-bill (a favourite nectar source for bees), Oxyeye Daisy, Meadow Buttercup, Red and White Campions.
Creating bird and butterfly feeding stations. Current opinion is that birds can be fed throughout the year and a wide variety of tables, feeders and hoppers are on the market. Watch for rats and squirrels. Change food daily and clean feeders to prevent decay and build up of mould or other toxins. Provide clean water for drinking and bathing. You can use anything from a bird bath to an upturned dustbin lid. Make sure the water is only 3-4 cm (about 1.5 ins) deep, and that there is a stone in the middle so birds can get out and dry themselves. Top up in summer, and keep ice-free in winter.- Butterfly feeding stations are normally larval food plants that adult butterflies lay eggs on and caterpillars feed off. Larval food plants vary with species. Plant them in a sunny place (even Nettles) or the butterflies may well ignore them.
- Creating a variety of habitats in the garden. These may include potted plants on the patio to attract butterflies, bees, wasps and hoverflies; a garden pond; a wild flower meadow; a woodland corner; a lawn, and an area of dead wood. The entire garden will have bird and bat boxes positioned in appropriate places.
- Building a trellis fence with climbing species will attract wildlife. Ivy produces nectar and berries over the late autumn to winter period. It is an important source of food and shelter for nesting birds, hibernating Brimstone butterflies and the larvae of Holly Blue butterflies. In autumn, the flowers are attractive to bees, hoverflies and Red Admiral butterflies. Honeysuckle is important for night flying insects like moths. In turn, these support the next link in the food chain - bats.
- Not using chemicals on the garden. Some, like those found in slug pellets, are extremely poisonous to birds and Hedgehogs. Use natural forms of control instead.