Mid and East Antrim Borough
Council celebrated Wild About Gardens Week with its first a Wild About Gardens
Workshop on Wednesday 28th October at Carrickfergus Mill Ponds.
With
a wide range of experts on site including RSPB, Ulster Wildlife and The
Conservation Volunteers, attendees built bird boxes, bird feeders and homes
for bees. Attendees also learnt how to make a mini pond in their own garden,
went pond dipping, learnt about bugs, bats and red squirrels and had the chance
to sign up to the Hedgehog Street campaign and make Hedgehog Street signs.
Many of
our common garden species, such as sparrows, common frogs and stag beetles, are
becoming much less common. Research has found that sixty percent of UK
animal and plant species have declined in the past 50 years for a range of
reasons including loss of habitat.
But it’s not hard to help. Together our
gardens can be a vast living landscape
that link urban green spaces with nature reserves and the countryside. With
an estimated 16 million gardens in the UK, the way they are cared for can make
a huge difference to wildlife. So get creative for wildlife this autumn. Why
have a plain fence when a green, living boundary can bring berries, flowers, scents,
colours and wildlife? Or why not dig a pond? Even a very small pond can
be home to newts, dragonflies, and pond skaters, and you'll also be providing
water for birds.
The Hedgehog Street campaign is
encouraging everyone to make a hole in their garden fence or wall and map it on
Hedgehog Street (http://www.hedgehogstreet.org/). Adult hedgehogs can travel
between 1-2 kilometres per night and they love gardens. There are around half a
million hectares of garden in the UK so it is important that hedgehogs can
access all these different gardens, for food and shelter, via holes in our fences and walls.
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| Making bird feeders |
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| Making Hedgehog Street signs |
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| Pond dipping |
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| Bird box building |
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| Bugs! |
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