In today’s environmentally conscious world we have to ask
how sustainable is the site? With over 40,000 plots and some 741 sites in
London and some 300,000 plots across the UK the ability for allotments to raise
the bar on environment is very real. This is one of a series of opportunities
to be covered over the coming days and hope that in doing so we stimulate
discussion and maybe even action.
3. Wildlife
Do you and the rest of your site proactively encourage wildlife
on the plots?
We often take those creatures that may share our land for granted.
We expect bees, butterflies, moths, hoverflies, ladybirds always to be there.
We may expect squirrels and other not so welcome guests such as rats and mice and
not realise that they are around until they strike. Many other wanted guests
such as, hedgehogs, frogs, toads, newts may visit or reside alongside us but
are rarely seen. We may have foxes and even badgers and all this without the
numerous varieties of birds and even bats. The varieties of wildlife that could
visit or reside on site are significant.
The wildlife on the plots will vary by location and
surrounding natural habitat and even if the conditions are ideal that doesn’t mean
their presence is. Urban and inner city sites could expect to have a different wildlife
profile to rural sites, but it is surprising how adaptable our little friends
are and how far they will travel to find a home and feast out on the allotments.
Bees are threatened by many factors; reduction of habitat
and fauna, chemicals and pollution and today Honey Bees and Social bees are
under a real threat from their own deadly virus called Chronic Bee Paralysis
Virus (CBPV). There are some 250 bee varieties in the UK of which only
some 10% are social bees and of that not all are ‘farmed’ and managed directly
by humans. The remaining 90% are solitary bees which in the main don’t sting
and are greater pollinators. So can we do a lot to encourage more bees? We can
obviously have hives, but also install bee houses to encourage solitary bees. Many
bees live in the banks, undergrowth, old tree stumps and even underground. Of
course having their favourite plants on site helps and I grow lots of sun
flowers, I leave rocket other plants such as broccoli to go to seed and again the bees love the flowers and
as for borage and comfrey the plants are a magnet for all bees.
I love to be picking some spinach or dense leaved plant and
find a frog or toad staring up at me like a rabbit caught in the headlights
before they hop off. I have no pond on the plot and the water tanks are too
high to offer a home to them unless they have learnt the art of pole vaulting. I
do remember when I cleared part of the plot that I discovered that there had once
been a concrete pond. Maybe it was their ancestral home. Perhaps we should all designate
a communal pond area and encourage these friends.
Hedgehogs are in decline especially in urban areas but are a
godsend if you are fortunate to have them. Their nocturnal scavenging can be
messy. i always remember finding one with a small yogurt pot stuck on its head
and it was very relieved when it was released. Hedgehog sanctuaries can help
establish them and they love to live in a good compost pile. however. how many
sites have already banned the use of metaldehyde (the blue slug pellets) which
will be banned from sale from April next year and from outdoor use the following
year? These pellets kill hedgehogs.
There is then the natural battle between man and aphids, be
they white, green red or black. Where tg hey appear from is a mystery but their
ability to colonise broad beans, or most beans, is a given. Ants may eat them
but they also entrap them into being their sugar slaves positioning them, and
when they have become full of sugar, devour them. Ladybirds just devour aphids,
but the numbers of ladybirds have dropped and what was a common sight is
becoming rarer. We must encourage them.
There are many more friends and probably the favourite is
the worm. There are so many different varieties some common some rare, some
friends others harmful but the friends we find on the plots convert organic matter into much richer humus
than it would be otherwise by pulling leaves and other plant materials down
into the soil. Once in its larder, the worm will shred the material,
eating some and leaving the rest to rot under the surface. Look in a healthy
compost bin and you’ll find worms. Better still, create a wormery.
What about the birds you may ask? We need to encourage these
too. Some are digging buddies like the faithful Robin who watches over the soil
being turned. The other songbirds who make up the dawn chorus can be happy with
a bird bath and a few seeds. The occasional small nest box helps too.
Then there are the voles, moles, foxes, rats, squirrels,
crows, magpies and pigeons you may often have to accept that sometimes others
share the plot too. After all, you can’t pick your neighbours. We leave slugs
and snails as an exception we can live without.
