My Wild City

Do something amazing for wildlife. Talk to your neighbours and community about what action you can take for wildlife as part of Bristol 2015. To start, here are a few ideas from Avon Wildlife Trust: 

Things you can do…

for birds

• Put up a nest box and bird feeder – Many birds and bats will use a box put up for them and food can attract regular visitors including blue tits, robins and blackbirds. Remember to feed the birds all year round.

• Plant a tree or hedgerow – Hedgerows are very valuable to wildlife. They make excellent places for birds to nest and provide a lot of food for them to eat. They also provide wild corridors which wildlife can travel along. You will be amazed at how birds will come to a garden if there is a tree to provide them with food, shelter and places to roost. The most useful species for birds’ food and nesting sites are hawthorn, blackthorn, elder and ivy.

 for pollinators like bees and butterflies

• Plant wildflowers and bee-friendly plants and seeds – Attract pollinators like bees and butterflies by planting high nectar and pollen-producing plants, such as pussy willow and flowering ivy. Early and late flowering species are important. Avoiding pesticides in the garden will increase the numbers of insects and encourage insect-eating birds such as robins and wrens, as well as other species like hedgehogs and toads.

• Create a bee and bug box – Making a bug box for insects helps recreate the natural nooks and crannies which are missing from tidy gardens and outside spaces. They will be used by insects for hibernation and shelter through the winter or as places to lay eggs.

for all wildlife

• Make a wildlife pond – Even an upturned dustbin lid with fresh water will encourage birds to drink and bathe, but a wildlife pond with gently sloping edges, packed full of pond plants will attract frogs, toads, newts, birds and dragonflies.

• Relax and let nature do its thing – Make time to look and you’ll be amazed at what is around. Resist the urge to tidy up in autumn! Leaves are a great place for creepy crawlies to shelter, and perennials left standing will help overwintering insects. Create a shelter! A pile of logs or compost bin will shelter many animals, including hedgehogs, frogs, toads and slow worms.

• Act for nature – Nature matters to all of us, but the loss of wildlife is continuing at an alarming rate. So, together with the RSPB, our partners and support from people like you, we’re calling for a Nature and Wellbeing Act to put nature at the heart of how our country is run. Please sign our e-action calling for all parties to include a Nature and Wellbeing act in their election manifestos: www.wildlifetrust.org/naturewellbeingact

For more information about how to take action for wildlife please visit: www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/mywildcity

Image credits:

Hedgehog and apples – Avon Wildlife Trust/Richard Bowler
Peregrine female – Avon Wildlife Trust/Pete Blanchard
Roadside verge oxeye – Avon Wildlife Trust/Steve Nicholls