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Tips for Wildlife Gardening
There is one habitat in the Crane Valley that is arguably as important for wildlife as the open spaces along the riverside - suburban gardens. These are important because collectively they represent more green space than the riverside parks, and also because they provide a mesh of green spaces right across the Crane Valley, not just adjacent to the river.

The Biodiversity for Urban Gardens project was a major investigation of wildlife in gardens in Sheffield. The conclusions included a number of surprises that might be reassuring for everyone who wants to do a little bit for wildlife in their garden. Here are ten top tips from the project. Even if you adopt one or two of these, you will have done something valuable for the wildlife of the Crane Valley.
1 Size doesn't matter! It doesn't matter how big your garden is - it is still worthwhile trying to manage a corner of it for wildlife. In fact from the perspective of invertebrates,small gardens appear to be almost as good as large gardens. You might not have that many birds visiting your tiny garden, but many beetles will be born and die without ever leaving your garden. Your garden is their entire world.
2 You don't need "native plants" to attract wildlife. There is little evidence to suggest that gardens full of "native plants" are any better than gardens with "introduced plants". What is important however is the following:
  • Make sure you have flowers blooming in your garden in as many months of the year as you can (ivy is a good species to include because it flowers very late in the year).
  • A mixture of flower types provides nourishment for a variety of species (open flowers, bell-shaped flowers, etc).
  • Small blocks of flowers are of greater value than individual scattered flowers.
3 Plant a tree (or a large shrub). Numbers of birds and insects in gardens are significantly greater when gardens contain trees or large shrubs. If you don't have any then it is a very good idea to plant some. Your best bet is to plant a seed or let a seedling grow but, failing that, an excellent source of native seedlings is the Woodland Trust (who will deliver mail order).
4 Every garden has room for a pond. Even the smallest garden can support a pond. A buried plant trough provides an adequate pond. The best thing you can do for wildlife such as amphibians is to make sure that your pond does not have any fish, and to provide access into and out of the pond (simple ramps will suffice).
5 Don't cut ALL the grass. Long grass is a habitat in short supply in urban environments. Long grass is very important for insects. An easy way off creating this habitat is simply to avoid mowing part of your lawn (perhaps one corner, or an edge).
6 Save some dead wood. Another important habitat in short supply is dead wood, since it tends to be "tidied" in urban environments. Consider keeping a log pile, with the lower logs part buried under the soil to help them rot. If you have to remove a tree, keep the stump in the ground.
7 Make someone a home. Many insects breed in small holes. One easy way to provide some homes is to drill 4mm or 6mm holes in a block of unreated wood and fix it in a sunny spot in your garden. The chances are good that you'll make someone very happy. (A Solitary Bee Hotel is one example.)
8 NO SLUG PELLETS! Never never never never... These are bad for slugs (sure) but also bad for other invertebrates, as well as animals (such as the Song Thrush) that eat slugs. There are many alternative ways of chasing slugs away (if you think the fight is worth having at all).
9 GOOD for wildlife: Compost heaps, hedges, trees, walls, variety, ponds, dead wood, long grass, feeders, water.
10 BAD for wildlife: Pesticides, slug pellets, hard surfaces, excessive tidiness, neatly mown lawns.

For more information, an excellent easy read is Ken Thompson's No Nettles required: The reassuring truth about wildlife gardening (Eden Project Books, 2006).

Other good links:

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