Wrexham County Borough Garden Habitat Action Plan garden Description of Habitat This biodiversity action plan is one in a series of plans within the Wrexham Biodiversity Action Plan. Gardens are important refuges for wildlife, especially in towns. This plan aims to enhance the biodiversity of gardens and reduce the wider effect gardening can have on the environment. A garden is a man made landscape defined in the Oxford English Dictionary (9th Edition) Your garden is a potential nature reserve as " A piece of ground usually partly grassed adjoining a Current Status private house used for growing With the British countryside under threat, as fruit trees and shrubs provide food for flowers, fruit or vegetables and and the fact that gardens can be birds and small mammals. A number of as a place of recreation." designed, modified and managed to nationally declining species such as song This action plan also relates to make them attractive to wildlife, every thrush, great crested newt, pipistrelle allotments, where garden garden - no matter what its size - is a bats and especially hedgehogs are produce is specifically grown, potential nature reserve. Recent known to occur in gardens. and those areas of garden research has shown that an average (including wildlife areas) created sized garden, managed with conservation Distribution within school grounds. Gardens in mind, can support up to 3000 different can provide important wildlife species of plants and animals. Gardens are widespread through corridors, particularly within an Britain covering some 3% of the total urban area. Traditionally gardens consist land area of England and Wales (Owen predominantly of grass lawns, usually 1991). The extent of garden habitat closely mown and often fertilised, with within the County Borough is currently extensive areas of herbs, shrubs and unknown. trees. However, more now consist predominantly of hard surfaces. Although a significant proportion of any garden vegetation may be native in origin, particularly hedges and associated trees, a large part of it is likely to be non-native and is often of unknown value to wildlife. Plants such as buddleia and ivy provide valuable nectar sources, and others such Flowers provide food and nectar for insects Hedgehogs eat snails and slugs 1 Wrexham County Borough Garden Habitat Action Plan O Infilling of water features due to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, O Bookshops and public libraries Local & National Biodiversity safety fears. Badger Act 1992, Countryside and stocking a wide range of books and Priority Species Associated Objectives and Targets Rights of Way Act 2000 and other guides on wildlife gardening; and with Gardens O Garden trends, e.g. the move to low Raise awareness of the value and importance of gardens for similar legislation. O Wildlife gardening leaflets produced 1 biodiversity and use it as a flagship habitat over the next ten years. O hedgehog O common toad maintenance gardens. by national organisations and O badger O grass snake With regard to new developments Reduce the use of peat based composts to 20% over the next ten years. O The decline in growing vegetable wildlife charities. 2 O pipistrelle bat O common lizard and fruit crops, which provided private garden space is encouraged Reduce the use of wildlife unfriendly pesticides by 50% over the next O songthrush O slow worm wildlife with food, especially in through Local Planning Guidance (Note 3 ten years. O linnet O butterflies autumn/early winter. No. 21 - Space Around Dwellings). Establish a green network in all new developments. O tree sparrow O moths Wrexham County Borough Council has 4 O Predation by domestic cats, O bullfinch O arable weeds the policy that back gardens of single Establish a monitoring system to determine the extent and value of particularly on birds. O spotted flycatcher O ladybirds bedroom developments should be a Examples of Wildlife and 5 gardens in the County Borough for wildlife. O great crested newt O bees Organic Gardening Publications p minimum of 30 sq m and those with hea st O smooth newt O hoverflies po m two bedrooms or more 50 sq m. Larger O How to make a wildlife garden o act birds to your c attr gard O palmate newt O large flowered A Chris Baines, Elm Tree books lps en plots are encouraged since they can he Local Action se London 1985 u O common frog hempnettle o support sustainable development by h O Agenda 21 Forum/ WCBC sale of d ir enabling residents to grow some of O Successful organic gardening b Geoff Hamilton, Dorling compost bins and water butts at A their own food and to compost Kindersley, 1987 reduced prices during Environment Current Factors domestic waste. Week. O Wildlife Friendly Gardening, a general guide Affecting Habitat O Annual Green Fair in Wrexham English Nature, 2001 Direct loss of garden area National Action town centre promoting O Plant for Wildlife through: Many organisations are working to raise environmental awareness. Countryside Council for Wales, 2002 O Loss of large back gardens to awareness of the important role that O BTCV, Green Gym Community O Bats in the Garden Detrimental effects of gardening private gardens can play in conserving housing development. School Garden Company Gardening, allotments, tree on the wider environment wildlife, and in helping people nurseries and orchards. O Loss of front gardens to concrete O 20 things you can do to O Use of peat causing the destruction experience wildlife on their doorstep. for off-road parking. conserve our rich variety of life. O Creation of Wildlife Areas in school of our lowland raised bogs. Projects and initiatives include: North Wales Wildlife Trust 1997 grounds and educational centres. Links to Other O Lack of provision of garden space O Use of invasive non-native pond O Many television and radio O For Peat's sake - Where to buy Action Plans in new developments. peat free products plants. programmes offering good advice, Lowland Bog Action Plan in Wildlife Trusts 2002 Sources Of with presenters advocating organic Wrexham County Borough, Loss of wildlife in O Dereliction of O How to make Wildflower Habitat Information gardening; Gardens Songthrush Action Plan in Wrexham gardens through: gardens, particularly The Ecology of a Garden County Borough, O National Garden Bird Watch Survey Landlife 2000 O Use of garden in old estates, thus Owen (1991), Cambridge University (RSPB/BTO); chemicals and creating reservoirs for Press, Cambridge. Great Crested Newt Action Plan in Wrexham County Borough*, slug pellets. invasive aliens; e.g. Japanese knotweed UK Biodiversity Group Pond Action Plan in O Loss of hedges (Fallopia japonica). Tranche 2 Action Wrexham County and replacement Plans, DETR (1998), Borough, with fences or walls. pe acoc rfly English Nature, k butte Woodland Action Peterborough. O Fewer open compost heaps Current Action Plan in Wrexham and less dead wood left to rot. Legal Status County Borough, Biodiversity: The UK O The desire for tidiness (e.g. lack of Garden habitats have no specific legal Steering Group Report. Hedgerows Action Plan wild corners, the cutting of rank protection, although trees are protected c in Wrexham County Volumes 1 & 2. om m in Conservation Areas and through on Borough*, vegetation, removing seed heads DoE (1995) HMSO, London. toad Tree Preservation Orders. Individual after flowering and disturbing Local Biodiversity Action Plans in hedges and compost heaps during species, including great crested newts, Oxford English Dictionary neighbouring counties. critical periods). bats and badgers are protected under 9th Edition. *To be published 2003. Allotments are great for growing your own organic vegetables 2 3 Wrexham County Borough Garden Habitat Action Plan Proposed Action with Lead Agencies Action Objectives Partners Target Advice and Publicity Develop a demonstration wildlife garden. 1 all By 2010. Organise an Open Day at an existing wildlife garden. 1 WCBC, Groundwork, Once every 2 years for the BTCV duration of the plan. Promote wildlife friendly gardening through leaflets, talks and awards. 1, 2, 3 CCW, NWWT, WCBC, 2003 give at least 2 talks per Libraries, BTCV, year to allotment and Garden Centres gardening societies. Produce advice on best practice, e.g. organic gardening, pest control, 1, 3 All 2006 timing of hedge cutting, water saving, cat bells etc. Initiate a peat free compost campaign. 2 NWWT, CCW, EN, WCBC 2003 Promote recycling schemes, e.g. composting. 2 WCBC, Agenda 21, Ongoing. Groundwork Use local events and publications to promote and raise awareness. 1, 2, 3 WCBC Ongoing. Policy and Legislation Lobby for the protection of existing gardens and allotments through 5 WCBC 2007 the tighter regulation of ‘back garden/allotment’ development. Retain and encourage the provision of hedges in new developments. 4 WCBC Ongoing. Initiate and develop green networks, linking gardens to other habitats 4 WCBC By end of 2003. and the wider countryside. Instigate opportunities to enhance the guidelines for (future) minimum 5 WCBC 2007 garden size. Management Target communities with garden deprivation for the creation of 1, 2, 5 WCBC, Groundwork, Ongoing. urban green spaces. BTCV Monitoring and Research Survey the extent of gardens (and allotments) from maps and 2 WCBC, NEWI, 2012 or when resources permit. aerial photographs. Groundwork, BTCV Initiate survey/monitoring of Biodiversity Action Plan and other 4 WCBC, NWWT, Pilot survey 2002. species in gardens. Local recorders Link up with national survey events such as RSPB's ‘Big Garden Watch’. 4 All As occur. Set up a database for garden observations. 4 WCBC/ NWWT, 2007 Local recorders Author: Amanda Davies Abbreviations for table BTCV - British Trust for Conservation Volunteers; CCW - Countryside Council for Wales; EN - English Nature; NEWI- North East Wales Institute; NWWT - North Wales Wildlife Trust; RSPB - Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; WCBC - Wrexham County Borough Council Further information Illustrations courtesy of English Nature.