Category: Counting On …

Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on

Counting on … day 181

30th September 2024

Householders can reduce the peak pressure on storm drains by making use of the SUDs principles. 

Eg Gravel and setts rather than solid concrete drive ways, water butts (although these will need emptying before heavy storms), rain gardens and ponds etc. 

The RHS explains that “a rain garden is a shallow area of ground or dip which receives run-off from roofs and other hard surfaces. It is planted with plants that can stand waterlogging for up to 48 hours at a time. More drought-tolerant plants are used towards the edges. Storm water fills the depression and then drains. A rill or channel of some kind will connect the roof downpipe to the dip. You can include other linking elements such as a water butt, rain chain, stormwater planter, or pond.” (1)  

The Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust has also useful information about creating rain gardens – https://www.wwt.org.uk/discover-wetlands/gardening-for-wetlands/how-to-make-a-rain-garden/

(1) https://www.rhs.org.uk/garden-features/rain-gardens

Counting on … day 180

27th September 2024

Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) rather than using drainage pipes as the immediate means of collecting rainwater, use natural features to slow and temporarily collect rainwater. This reduces the peak demands placed on drainage systems – peaks which often overwhelm the system.

SUDS may include planting flowerbeds or other green verges alongside roads and pavements, replacing hard surfaces with softer surfaces – eg concrete with gravel – and creating rain gardens, ponds and streams or rills. Rain in this way can be used to create attractive features, new habitats, and increased biodiversity.

For more information see https://www.susdrain.org/delivering-suds/using-suds/background/sustainable-drainage.html

Counting on … day 179

26th September 2024

Increasing biodiversity can reduce the risk or extent of flooding. A range of trees and shrubs, grasses and other plants will improve the capacity of the soil to absorb water and slow the rate at which falling water reaches the ground. A diverse range of plants – and therefore of root systems – helps stabilise the soil, limiting how much is washed away and securing banks. 

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/nature-can-help-prevent-flooding

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/flooding/

Counting on … day 178

25th September 2024

What about edible playgrounds in our schools?

“Edible Playgrounds offer a lively, engaging, multi-sensory way to teach children about growing and eating healthy food. Aside from the physical health benefits that eating well brings, learning in an outdoor environment combats Nature Deficit Disorder and has been shown to increase mental health by boosting mood, confidence and self-esteem. Furthermore, allowing the children to connect with nature develops attentiveness and self-reliance in the pupils, leading to more sustainable behaviours in the long term.” (1)

Equally what about a school orchard?

“With a little maintenance and planning, trees give back so much more than we put into them. But they do need to be cared for, especially in the tender early years of their growth”. (2)

(1) https://www.treesforcities.org/our-work/schools-programme/edible-playgrounds

(2) https://treecouncil.org.uk/grants-and-guidance/our-grants/orchards-for-schools/

Counting on … day 177

24th September 2024

Community gardens can not only boost biodiversity but also the supply of locally grown food. 

“Pam Warhurst … the founder of Incredible Edible, a food-focused guerrilla gardening movement, wants the state to get out of people’s way. “The biggest obstacle is the inability of people in elected positions to cede power to the grassroots,” she says… Her big idea is guerrilla gardening – with a twist. Where guerrilla gardeners subvert urban spaces by reintroducing nature, Incredible Edible’s growers go one step further: planting food on public land and then inviting all-comers to take it and eat. “I used food because it seemed to me that we needed to act fast,” Warhurst says. “We needed to get experience as soon as we could, and probably food was the thing that we could demonstrate an alternative way of living around, in a really simple way.”” (1)

Here in London the Edible Bus Stop in Lambeth grows a range of flowering plants, herbs, vegetables and fruit trees. https://theediblebusstop.com/the-kerb-garden/

  1. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/sep/13/radical-food-group-incredible-edible-guerrilla-gardening?

Counting on … day 176

23rd September 2024

My local community garden was formally approved before we began but others may be less formal but just as impactful. 

“What is guerrilla gardening? It’s an act of reclaiming unused or neglected urban spaces and transforming them into biodiverse havens, benefitting both people and planet. What started as a form of peaceful protest against urban decay and the encroachment of industrialisation has evolved into a global movement aimed at bringing nature back into cities. The practice involves planting flowers, vegetables or shrubs in nature-depleted pockets. This could be an abandoned flower bed, the base of trees along your road or a depleted area outside a library or bus stop. (1) 

At the same time, guerrilla gardening can involve seeking permission from the landowner which may be more forthcoming if there is a group ready and committed to greening that spot.

For more information about how to go about guerilla gardening – https://urbangardeningguru.com/guerrilla-urban-gardens-in-london-origins-impact-and-success-stories/

  1. https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/guerrilla-gardening-london-challenge-earthed-rewilding-b1179583.html

Counting on … day 175

20th September 2024

Community gardens can fit into the tiniest spaces and still bring biodiversity benefits. Near our local school a patch of rough ground less than a meter deep and about 10m long was planted with hedge saplings and wild flower plug plants by the children. Since then other plants have been added by members of the local community, making it very much a community-made garden and filling it with colour and variety. 

Counting on … day 174

19th September 2024

Of all the green space in London, a little under a third comprises private gardens. (1) How we use our gardens can contribute positively or negatively to improving biodiversity. Solid decking and brick/ concrete driveways prevent wildlife from creating a home, whilst using pesticides and herbicides kill wildlife. On the other hand mowing lawns  infrequently (No Mow May etc), planting a year-round range bee friendly plants, and including a mix of of shrubs, trees and plants of different sizes can create a variety of well fed habitats for wild life. (2)

(1) https://www.gigl.org.uk/our-data-holdings/keyfigures/

(2) https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2023/04/increase-garden-biodiversity/

Counting on … day 173

18th September 2024

In 2019 London declared itself to be the first National Park City, to enable residents to live greener, healthier and ‘wilder’ lives, as well as promoting new business opportunities. (1) Already green and blue spaces cover 49.7% of the land. 

The fact that an area of land is designated as a National Park does it always mean that it will be used or cared for in such a way as to promote biodiversity. (2)

On the other hand plenty of organisations work really hard to achieve this.  In London many organisations are drawing up and implementing biodiversity action plans, including the City of London, the Royal Parks, the Greater London Authority, various London Boroughs, as well as organisations such as the Wildlife and Wetlands Trust, the South East Rivers Trust, Barnes Common Limited, and many more, both smaller and larger. Positive change is possible!

  1. https://nationalparkcity.london/proposal

(2) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/09/national-parks-in-england-and-wales-failing-on-biodiversity-say-campaigners?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on … day 172

17th September 2024

There are about 250,000 allotments in the UK (the most common plot size is 10 rods, an ancient measurement equivalent 253 square metres). Allotments have many values such as enabling people to grow their own food, to get in touch with the natural world, to escape the confines of a flat or small house, to improve their physical and mental health through the manual work of gardening, and through sociability of being with others. (1) Some allotments owners have commented on the spiritual benefits they receive, which is wonderful link back to the story of the original garden created by God in Eden.

Allotments too could be the means of improving local biodiversity, and can help form green corridors. Green corridors enable wildlife to move easily over long or short distances without having to leave the safety of their natural environment. 

If you have an allotment or a garden, here are some suggested ways by which you can improve local biodiversity: https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/news/four-ways-to-boost-allotment-biodiversity

  1. https://database.nsalg.org.uk/benefits-of-allotments