Wildlife area ideas please

[Rainbowmum]

As part of the many things we the home-educators of Greater Manchester are involved in one is working alongside some LNR wardens improving a space for nature. You can see a brief bit here : Banky Meadows
So now we have cleared some of the overgrown plant life and begun coppicing, what ideas can anyone share that should be incorporated into our plot?
I'm thinking areas for different wildlife/homes/feeders/plants etc. Thanks all xxx
Louise

[Alan]

Hi Louise

Just be careful not to go too overboard with the clearing of the 'undergrowth' as much of this is home to the wildlife that you're intending to help! Is there some kind of plan for the management of site? Even a basic survey would be of help for future projects.

Alan

edit: Whoops sorry, missed the bit about wardens, so I'm sure they know what they're doing. Can you give us more details of the habitat/species etc?

[Rainbowmum]

Originally Posted by Alan

Hi Rainbowmum

Just be careful not to go too overboard with the clearing of the 'undergrowth' as much of this is home to the wildlife that you're intending to help! Is there some kind of plan for the management of site? Even a basic survey would be of help for future projects.

Alan

edit: Whoops sorry, missed the bit about wardens, so I'm sure they know what they're doing. Can you give us more details of the habitat?

Yes they only cleared a minimum area and there is lots of unstrimmed stuff around. I will ask the wardens tomorrow of the basic plan because as yet I have not reached the site as I was collecting seeds with the little kids! I do hope they have one though!!! All I know right now is it is part of the Mersey Valley.

[mrs fish]

Let some of the area be wild, ground cover is good for small mammals insects and birds.
Maybe put up some bird and bat boxes.
Just letting the area be is the main thing and having little paths to walk through is ideal.
It is brilliant for you and the kids just to enjoy the sights and sounds, perhaps you could try and count the species of birds/insects/plants

[Alan]

Well to start with, and until you know more about any future plans, I'd get the kids to draw a site map and put all the different areas on it (in bright colours of course ). Then get them to write down all the animals and plants that are know to frequent the place, and maybe all the animals that they think should be there or they'd like to be there (I'm sure you'll get Tigers mentioned! ).

[Rainbowmum]

Originally Posted by Alan

Well to start with, and until you know more about any future plans, I'd get the kids to draw a site map and put all the different areas on it (in bright colours of course ). Then get them to write down all the animals and plants that are know to frequent the place, and maybe all the animals that they think should be there or they'd like to be there (I'm sure you'll get Tigers mentioned! ).

Thanks guys that is a fab idea and one we will use. Yes I am sure we'll get tigers mentioned and always the favoured T Rex

[honeybee]

make sure you leave some woodpiles for the beetles and insects.

[chunkychambers]

Can I suggest a false bank of soft earth and sand with lots of small holes in it. This might attract Sand Martins or the odd Kingfisher.
The London Wet life centre did the same and now have a thriving Sand Martin colony

[Paul mabbott]

I'll just agree with everyone else - first make a map/list of what you've got, then decide what you want to clear (if anything - it looks a good mix to me) or add.
- Any trees/shrubs that are cut down, or any dead wood you find, throw it up one corner and leave it alone!
- if you have paths keep them to a minumum, use hoggin (or somesuch, never concrete) - try to make one circular path rather than lots of little ones;
- aim, depending on size to keep *half* the area completely untouched - no management, no trampling, just observation from the edge;
- doesn't look as if you'll need to plant any trees but, if you want (e.g.) a specimen oak then make sure it doesn't overshade the rest of the site; by and large better to take advantage of the things growing there and any that arrive of their own volition than go in for mass plantings;
- if you have a particularly damp area, you might want to scrape a bit of it off and leave it as a bog. Ponds can be expensive to make and take a good bit of maintenance and may be hazardous; something that is a puddle in winter even though it dries up in midsummer is probably just as good for wildlife;
- you will want an area of grassland - if only to sit on: don't cut it too often and do any strimming in patches ensuring there are always some long patches throughout the year;
- you may not want all your trees to grow tall so convert some of them into a hedge or a copse by choppping them off fairly then trimming them to about 2m every August.

Let us all know how your plans progress, I'm sure there's a lot more advice available!
Good luck!

[nightshade]

I agree map it out see what you have got.Plot the suns route around the site
so that you know the sunny spots,most wildlife likes to bask,and plant suitable
flowers for hoverflies(micaelmas daisies) and butterflies, put down a large paving
slab for basking on.
Water is always an attraction as are boggy bits, also try to make it so each little
area is screened one from another.I would plant Bamboo,which can be divided to
provide more plants later little birds treat mine like reeds and are always in the
thicket it will also provide canes later
Hazel is also useful and can be coppiced later to make fencing poles make a Sundial,
plenty of instructions online children are fascinated (it is also a compass)
A raised platform will give a good vantage point (a sort of tree-house)
Pauls soft bank is excellent but may need a supporting wall inside to hold it firm
I think there are tubes set in the one he mentions,Good luck, before and after photos are a must

[nightshade]

Do not forget the half sheets of corrugated iron,the log piles brushwood piles and
dry stone walling south facing for bumblebees,bat boxes and roof tiles wired to tree trunks o (south facing easy to fly to)to provide summer roosts and somewhere for Hedgehogs
and a stony sandy gravelly area

[Dorcas]

it's possibly been mentioned but do you have standards in the coppices - could they be aerial walkways - for Dormice? or even squiggles

I seem to remember reading something about beetle buckets - sawdust but can't remember anything more - maybe the internet will reveal more

[nightshade]

Take a bucket drill large holes in bottom and sides fill with hardwood chips and saw-
dust bury for beetles (hopefully Stag Beetles)cover with brush wood or log pile

[Alan]

Originally Posted by nightshade

I agree map it out see what you have got.Plot the suns route around the site
so that you know the sunny spots,most wildlife likes to bask,and plant suitable
flowers for hoverflies(micaelmas daisies) and butterflies, put down a large paving
slab for basking on.
Water is always an attraction as are boggy bits, also try to make it so each little
area is screened one from another.I would plant Bamboo,which can be divided to
provide more plants later little birds treat mine like reeds and are always in the
thicket it will also provide canes later
Hazel is also useful and can be coppiced later to make fencing poles make a Sundial,
plenty of instructions online children are fascinated (it is also a compass)
A raised platform will give a good vantage point (a sort of tree-house)
Pauls soft bank is excellent but may need a supporting wall inside to hold it firm
I think there are tubes set in the one he mentions,Good luck, before and after photos are a must

Paving slabs, Bamboo, Sundials and Tree-houses! Sounds like an episode of Ground Force

Maybe best to stick to native plants and more natural products (though corrigated sheets are good for surveys). Would be more suitable for a wildlife reserve. Just a thought..

Bat and Bird Boxes are a must though!

[eeyore]

i just found this , which you (rainbow mum) might find useful BBC - Breathing Places - Create Places

[nightshade]

This space must create interest for children bamboo is as good as reeds for small bird cover and has a good secondary use, a single paving slab is hardly ground force and the number of insects that alight on a nice warm stone would make it worth while cover the edges with
thyme if it offends your sensibilities

[Alan]

Originally Posted by nightshade

This space must create interest for children bamboo is as good as reeds for small bird cover and has a good secondary use, a single paving slab is hardly ground force and the number of insects that alight on a nice warm stone would make it worth while cover the edges with
thyme if it offends your sensibilities

Well I suppose the Tigers could hide in the Bamboo! Not sure about the sense of thyme and my sensibilities. Will the kids have to sit on it and read a Jane Austin novel too!

[badgerwatcher]

Tigers? What? I wasn't concentrating...Oh, no! It's happening again...Agh!!!!

[speckled wood]

First option is to look at what is already growing there or nearby and seeing how it might be used to achieve the required effect, things like Ox-Eye Daisies, thistles and Knapweed will bring in the insects.

[Rainbowmum]

Thanks again for all the ideas. My friend told me that this particular patch is for the kids to create the wildlife haven they want so the wardens have no plan for it (Though will supervise). It is only a small-ish area surrounded by lots of other wild space. It has quite a lot of invasive non-native plants tto.
I think I'll arrange a meeting with the warden and find out what he knows and discuss your suggestions to see which might be feasible. I set a yahoo group up for the kids to discuss their projects so then I'll post any info and ideas on there so they can get their heads together.
Would it be worth doing a survey in Winter? and what is the best way of going about it?
Louise xxx

[Paul mabbott]

If this is not semi-natural land then you don't need to worry about non-natives. Butterflies aren't worried about where their nectar comes from &c.. Indeed, alien plants can often be better providers of food, over long periods, than natives.

To do a reasonable survey you will need to examine the site over several seasons so, yes, anything you can do now will be useful. Start by marking/naming trees and shrubs (on your map). Then, see if you can demarcate different 'habitats' on the site - do some areas have different plant species or forms - is some short grass, some tall herbs, some wet, some dry &c.? Mark these off as plots on your map then examine each one, over several months just noting all species found and which is most abundant.
*When* that's done you can look at the lists to see what can be encouraged and what can be ignored (as well as any plants which may become invasive and need exterminating, such as Japanese knotweed).
Let your youngsters lose with some plant keys and, of course, if you can't identify something, post a picture here!
Same goes for insects and other animals - identify them and note where they're found: are some plots more attractive to insects than others? In which case, manage that plot appropriately.
Have fun, Paul

Originally Posted by Rainbowmum

...............It has quite a lot of invasive non-native plants tto.
..............
Would it be worth doing a survey in Winter? and what is the best way of going about it?
Louise xxx