To ensure that the article isn't behind a paywall, I have reproduced the article below. Many thanks to the BNA for publishing my article.
Sowing the seed
For over a decade I have had Myalgic encephalomyelitis, which often leaves
me housebound, and, fortunately less often these days stuck in bed for a day or
two at a time.
Being
forced to slow down and take each day as it comes allowed me discover the
wonderful world of botany. Over time this developed into a greater
understanding of the natural world and the struggles it is facing.
As
the years progressed, through the frustration of not being able to get out and
be productive in the community, I began online projects, followed by volunteering
for local charities, before becoming a Town Councillor for Calne in 2021. This
platform has allowed me to push for more tree planting and sensitive use of the
land that the council own.
A
friend and colleague told me of the Felixstowe Community Nature Reserve in July
2021. This project run by Dr Adrian Cooper, with the aim of creating a combined
nature reserve the same area of a football pitch, out of the gardens and
allotments of local people, really caught my attention.
I set to work immediately, creating a Facebook page and submission form for residents of the Calne Community Area to pledge their wildlife-friendly space to a Calne Community Nature Reserve.
Germination of the project
As
pledges came in, I realised that it was important to take the online pledges
and turn them into real world action.
I
began by creating a graphic entitled ‘Can a single plant make a difference?’.
This highlighted the success of a single teasel plant that had self-sown in my
back garden, in a gap between wall and concrete. Along with identifying some of
the invertebrate species that had discovered and used the plant, I used a piece
of research that indicates that the humble teasel may be able to digest
invertebrates, taken in additional nutrients to increase seed set and seed mass
by up to 30%. With this single plant, I wanted to highlight that even a small
space can become a wildlife-friendly space.
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| Bee on Teasel |
To
further support those wanting to garden for wildlife, I have initiated a series
of graphics advising people of five wildlife-friendly gardening jobs that they
can be doing that season.
With
every item I publish, I find it important to include a call to action,
something that readers can do right now.
Whether
that be installing swift boxes where appropriate, or creating a pile of fallen
leaves to leave over winter as a home for hibernating animals, which can lead
on to providing encouragement for the leaf pile to be left even longer to
encourage detritivores, it’s important to ensure that the call to action can be
followed as soon as possible.
To
support this action, I have setup an activity on iRecord to allow those within
the Calne Community Nature Reserve area to record the species that they
discover in their gardens, allotments, etc.
Finally,
I wanted to support the wellbeing of those at home, who may not be able to get
out and either garden for wildlife or record the species in their space. I
found a 2015 study in the Netherlands that discovered stress could be lowered
by simply looking at pictures of nature. With this in mind, I set up a YouTube
channel. This includes helpful evidence-based information, along with ‘Mindful
Minutes’. These Mindful Minutes are clips of nature often taken from areas of
our community nature reserve. The clips are used together with relaxing music
to provide a short window for mindfulness meditation.
Eight months on and future growth
As the UK’s 16 million gardens take up over 10 million acres
of land, more than all of our National Nature Reserves combined the Calne
Community Nature Reserve (CCNR) offers a way to pool together the patches of
land that we privately own and begin to provide a joined up natural network
within the Calne Community Area, using evidence-led wildlife-friendly
gardening.
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| CCNR Map |
We are now close to 70%, or 4455 square metres of the 6,400 square metres required to meet the size of an adult football pitch.
The
nature reserve habitat types consist of the following areas: Garden, Allotment,
Bug Hotels / Insect Lodges, Hedgerow, Nesting Boxes, Pond, Window box or
containers. The spaces pledged start from 1 square metre all the way up to 1,714
square metres, with even the smallest of the 45 pledged places providing a
much-needed oasis in the sea of tarmac we are surrounded with in our built-up
areas.
Many of the social media posts that I publish reach hundreds
of people in the local area, with some recent posts reaching around 2,000
people each, with interaction growing, showing that the interest is there.
However, social media platforms are not the only outlets I’ve
used for engagement. Other platforms include a BBC Wiltshire radio interview,
an article in the Town Council’s magazine which is delivered to all residents,
along with various leaflets that I have written by request for local
organisations.
The project is currently in its eighth month and the scope is
already beginning to widen. From germinating seeds for a local volunteer
project along the nearby Abberd Brook, to discussions with Wiltshire Council
regarding reducing the mowing schedule of the Calne bypass verge, to assisting
with the potential creation of a ‘Friends’ group for the Town Gardens, with the
aim of increasing pollinator-friendly planting and education.
It feels important to engage in discussions that take in
other spaces. To bridge tarmac desert that separates gardens and the more open
green spaces in and around the town.
 |
| Even tiny spaces for wildlife can make a difference. |
Conclusion
For anyone wanting an update on the teasel that helped launch,
and garner interest in, this project. Although dead, It is still in place. It
will continue to provide a structure for spiders to create webs and be an
educational piece for my children. The rosette of leaves that became clear at the
end of last year has now produced some stems with flower buds, providing a new
generation of teasel in such an unlikely place.
It seems clear that what started as a desktop exercise to
provide some social engagement regarding the creation of safe spaces for our
wildlife has taken root in the local community.
I recently received an invitation by Wiltshire Council to
attend their workshop titled ‘Community Local Nature Recovery Strategy Pilot’,
as the representative for the CCNR project, along with other local
organisations. This pilot scheme has the potential to influence strategy
throughout Wiltshire, for my part, I will be highlighting the aims and
successes of initiatives such as the Community Nature Reserve.
The Calne Community Nature Reserve project has grown to
advocate, educate, and support wildlife-friendly spaces, in both privately-owned
and public spaces. I will push these aims as far as possible in an endeavour to
bridge the gap between gardens and other spaces to create the mosaic of appropriate
habitats that our struggling species need – not just to survive, but to thrive.
For more information, please visit:
https://linktr.ee/calnecommunitynaturereserve
Sources:
Carnivory in the Teasel Dipsacus fullonum — The Effect of
Experimental Feeding on Growth and Seed Set. 2022. Carnivory in the Teasel
Dipsacus fullonum — The Effect of Experimental Feeding on Growth and Seed Set.
[ONLINE] Available at:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0017935.
[Accessed 16 March 2022].
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 2022. Autonomic Nervous System
Responses to Viewing Green and Built Settings. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4690962/.
[Accessed 16 March 2022].
British Trust for Ornithology. 2022. Explore your garden this
spring with Gardenwatch | BTO - British Trust for Ornithology. [ONLINE]
Available at:
https://www.bto.org/community/news/201905-explore-your-garden-spring-gardenwatch.
[Accessed 17 March 2022].
