SA 13 - Promote nature-friendly gardening and individual householder actions

Code

SA 13

Supporting action

Promote nature-friendly gardening and individual householder actions

Description

• Use native plants as much as possible in the garden • Prevent escape of invasive plant species from gardens and dispose of waste plant material responsibly • Avoid using chemicals (pesticides, weed killers) in the garden • Avoid peat-based composts and plants grown in peat • Create a pond or bog garden • Plant hedgerows of native species e.g. as garden boundaries • Work with neighbours to create wildlife corridors such as hedgehog highways • Install wildlife refuges such as insect hotels, hedgehog houses and hibernacula for reptiles and amphibians • Install nest/roost boxes especially for bats, house martins and swifts • Leave areas of the garden wild, allow part of the lawn to grow long during the spring and summer and, where safe, leave decaying trees in situ • Clean bird feeders regularly to reduce spread of avian diseases • Collect and store rainwater and avoid impermeable surfaces for driveways and gardens • Maintain and empty septic tanks every 3-5 years to prevent leaking of nutrients into watercourses • Dispose of litter and domestic waste responsibly; re-use, compost and recycle where possible

Links to additional information and guidance

https://www.rspb.org.uk/helping-nature/what-you-can-do/activities/planting-plan-for-wildlife-gardens 

https://www.soilassociation.org/what-we-do/nature-climate/soil/starting-a-nature-friendly-allotment/ 

https://www.herefordshirewt.org/wildlifegardening 

Priority

Nature-rich areas within the built environment are accessible, climate resilient, interconnected and biodiverse

Priority description

Whilst Herefordshire is a rural county the city, towns and villages are still important places that can be shared by people and wildlife. Many species have come to successfully coexist with people in urban settings, and many others must travel across the built environment areas when moving between their natural habitats. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the built up areas and settlements can enable species to move freely and even inhabit these areas in the long-term. The majority of these measures and supporting actions can apply on private and council land as well as to schools, business premises and hospital grounds, and between them these spaces can become an interwoven network for nature within our built environment.

Mapped

No