10 February 2021 | by Gemma McFarlane
In February, The Lewes Climate Hub and Seaford Environmental Alliance held two rewilding webinars entitled Spring into Renaturing. We heard from people working on a range of projects from rewilding on a large scale to those telling us what we can do in our own gardens and allotments to attract more wildlife.
We have an ambition to give 30 per cent of cultivated land back to nature by 2030 to help safeguard bio-diversity and thereby look after our well being into the bargain. We have a wealth of local expertise so watch our webinars to hear what’s involved and see where the practice takes us!
Wildlife signs
Spring into Renaturing 1
Rina Quinlan from Sussex Wildlife Trust: Wilder landscapes: the River Ouse and surroundings
Dylan Walker from Wilderlife: Your countryside needs you! How everybody can get involved in Rewilding
Helen Meade from Lewes Railway Land Wildlife Trust: Tree Planting and Tree Summit.
Spring into Renaturing 2
Martin Pett: Gardening for Wildlife: Churchyards, School Grounds and Domestic Gardens as havens for biodiversity.
Lesley Healey from Common Cause: Nature-friendly food gardening.
Dinah Pryor and Gemma Mcfarlane from Seaford Environmental Alliance: 1 metre Micro-Garden Project.
Something that came from the group discussion was the worry that neighbours and passers by would think we’re not looking after our gardens if we let our grass grow long or if our flowerbeds are not neat and tidy. Between us, we came up with ideas to explain that we are gardening this way to benefit wildlife. These were:
Pardon the weeds, we’re feeding the bees!
Frog parking, all others will be toad!
Watch for beetles crossing! Watch for (insert suggestion) crossing!
Bee sanctuary
Pollinator parking
Butterfly paradise
Wildlife campsite
Hedgehog highway
Frogs welcome
Pollinators welcome
Wildlife area
Sharing your space with wildlife doesn’t just mean leaving the grass to grow long. Visit here for Dinah’s tips for different garden aspects.
If you do share your space with wildlife, please add your postcode and the amount of space to the map on Jean’s ‘A Metre Square for Wildlife’ page so we can see the wildlife corridors forming.
