
Nature-Connected Neighbourhoods
Nature-Connected Neighbourhoods CIC is a Community Interest Company founded to take action on the ecological crisis. Our wildlife is in trouble, which means really difficult impacts for people, but there is a great deal that we can do to heal, restore and create space for new growth. Through wildlife gardening we can increase connectivity and coverage of habitat, support native species of flora and fauna and help with both mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.
Intentions
Our intentions are:
- to create a network of corridors for nature
- to increase habitat quality and coverage
- to increase diversity of habitat and species
- to build community and bring people together
- to address inequality of access to outdoor spaces
- to increase nature connectedness
- to raise awareness of the ecological emergency and the ways that people can help
- to campaign for a more nature-connected world
- to promote and support citizen science and the importance of data in informing decisions
- to support and nurture biodiversity champions
Mission and Vision Statement
The mission of Nature-Connected Neighbourhoods is to create and enhance corridors for wildlife to thrive in our urban communities. We aim to achieve this by encouraging engagement by local communities to create shared use of outdoor spaces, such as gardens, allotments and green infrastructure. Our vision is to reconnect communities – both human street communities and existing wildlife habitats, to support nature connectedness and to build a future which nurtures human wellbeing and thriving biodiversity.
Our gardens and allotments can provide essential corridors as well food and habitat for all sorts of animals, including pollinators. Perhaps the most well-known example of wildlife corridors are the hedgehog highways whereby people are encouraged to leave a hole in their fences for hedgehogs to pass.
While, for many, the benefits to wildlife of sharing our outdoor spaces is reason enough, there are also many benefits to humans as well. These include reductions in noise and flooding, keeping the urban environment cooler and reductions in air pollution. Connection with outdoor nature is also strongly correlated with improvements in well-being – from reducing blood pressure to the chemicals in soil that have similar effects to anti-depressants.
Gardens in the UK cover more land area than our National Parks, so we have a huge opportunity to help wildlife. The soil and plants are vital carbon sinks, helping towards the fight against the climate crisis. So we can help with loss of habitat, with declining numbers of pollinating insects, with pollution issues and with reducing carbon dioxide levels that contribute to global heating.
We have entered a phase of having gardens as outdoor rooms – so many outdoor spaces now are paved, decked or astroturfed, leaving no room for nature. To give an idea, just one in ten of the front gardens in my street have some green space. Increasing numbers of people locally are putting in drives or covering the soil in back gardens with artificial surfacing. Many more are largely close-cut mown grass with little diversity of plant species or habitat.
By comparison, wildlife gardening is about working in partnership with nature, learning from nature and letting things grow. The pinnacle of wildlife gardening is ecosystem creation – adding elements such as ponds, log piles, meadows, wilder, scrubby areas etc. However, it really doesn’t have to be big or grand – we have a “flowerpot meadow” which is literally a flowerpot with seeds for pollinators. It is drought-hardy and has given months and months of interest and colour for both us and visiting pollinators. Our first pond was basically a washing-up bowl which the frogs came to and filled with frogspawn!
Our top tips for your wildlife garden are:
- Don’t use harmful chemicals (no weedkillers or pesticides). Ensure the plants you buy have not been treated with pesticides etc. Organic plants and seeds are a safe bet.
- Go peat-free – ideally make your own compost in a compost bin/heap, wormery etc. We also buy peat-free compost. Note: if the compost does not say it is peat-free in big letters, it will contain peat. Also watch when buying plants that these are not in peat and/or treated with pesticides – even “plants for pollinators” can fall into this category – the RHS label does not guarantee that the nursery has not used peat or pesticides.
- Don’t mow more than once or twice a year – let it grow – especially during the late spring/summer months – or at least don’t mow all of it – leave a patch for the grass and flowers to grow. Moths and butterflies really benefit from native grasses, as do a number of other invertebrates
- Instead of weeds, you now have wildflowers – it’s just a change of mindset – dandelions, brambles, green alkanet are all wildflowers and are loved by bees
- Have wild patches – let nature take over a corner of the garden, providing shelter and undisturbed patches
- Think in terms of ecosystems and habitats – good soil (no digging, no chemicals) and the right plants bring seeds and insects, which attract birds and mammals
- A wildlife pond is probably the biggest impact habitat you can provide (try Kate Bradbury’s book for more about this)
- Think circular – don’t be too tidy – allow the dead things to decompose and put the nutrients back and provide food and habitats for a large number of species (note: most wildflowers like nutrient-poor soil, so this is one place where it is good to remove things like grass cuttings to the compost heap rather than allowing the nutrients to return to the soil)
- Choosing the right plants – pick plants for pollinators (not sterile hybrids or double flower varieties), plants with berries and fruits e.g. holly, ivy, fruit trees etc. (Highly recommend Dave Goulson’s The Garden Jungle or Gardening for Bumblebees for more on this)
- Go in layers – have plants at all levels from the ground up, paying attention to how they work together (useful clues from nature – look at how a deciduous woodland is structured), also seasonal layers – ensuring that your wildlife garden caters throughout the year (e.g. choosing plants which flower at different times and thinking about the needs of birds, butterflies, amphibians etc at different times of the year – breeding, feeding, hibernating, different parts of the life cycle)
- Provide shelter – ground level cover and trees, hedges and shrubs
- To maximise your beneficial impact on the climate, have as much soil packed with plants as possible – remove as much path, gravel etc. as you can live with
- Have a hole in your fence for hedgehogs etc. to travel between gardens or better still replace the fence with a hedge
- Put away the hedge trimmers, chainsaws etc. – at least during bird nesting season (generally March to August, but be mindful of changes due to a changing climate and only do it if absolutely necessary)
- To a certain extent, the wider range of species the better – think wildflower meadow rather than monoculture lawn, but it is also good to have species in sufficient numbers – having one of each wildflower tends not to be as useful as a good-sized patch of one – the population needs to be large enough to support the species you want to attract, but bear in mind what is present in your neighbourhood – the population size can include species outside your own boundary.
- Even a window box with wildflowers can be a wildlife garden – you do not need acres to make a difference
- Avoid invasive, non-native species (our local woodland/riverside is filled with bamboo and Himalayan balsam, which thrive there and displace native species)
- If nature is eating your garden, then you have a successful wildlife garden! We use some non-harmful measures to keep our fruit and vegetables from being eaten, but we also take the attitude that slugs are food for toads and song thrushes etc. so sharing our food is a small price to pay!
- Finally, encourage your neighbours to join you!
We are creating a series of videos to share the story of our own suburban wildlife garden and some of the tips we have learned along the way. Click the links to watch the videos:
- Wildlife pond
- Hedgehogs
- Leaving things a bit messy
- Soil and wildflowers
- Overview of how your garden can help in climate and nature crises
There’s a bit more background to the project in this blog.
Visit our dedicated pages for any aspect of nature-connected neighbourhoods that you are particularly interested in:
- Hedgehogs
- Bats
- Hoverflies – make your own hoverfly lagoon project
- Wildlife ponds
See the resources page for more information on places to get advice.