National Emergency Briefing – Nature Part II
Last time we talked about the value of nature to our daily lives, whether that’s helping produce the food we eat, the health benefits it provides such as reducing air pollution or giving us a mood boost, or helping to reduce flooding.
If that made you think about what you can do to help provide a home for nature….
Having a garden with flowers and trees is great but if you don’t, could you have a small pot or planter with some insect-friendly flowers and herbs to give bees and moths something to eat? If you grow plants that don’t mind it dry, such as oregano, lavender or field scabious, you can enjoy watching butterflies coming to feed on the nectar and it’ll help catch water during a heavy rainstorm, unlike a paved drive or patio.
If you avoid using pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides around your home and garden, you’ll be providing food for the natural predators of insects as well as stopping these toxic chemicals getting into the food chain when birds and other animals eat the insects and plants treated with them. There are lots of ideas about how you can help create a home for nature here: www.wiltshirewildlife.org/actions_for_wildlife.
Flooding from too much rain may not be a problem at the moment but this is something else nature can help with – when we have more green space and ground for the water to be absorbed and filter slowly through the earth, we see less water on roads and driveways. Re-wiggling rivers to slow the flow of water and having porous land to hold water during heavy downpours are cheaper ways to reduce flooding.
To get local inspiration for your garden, head to Melksham Gardeners’ Society’s annual Flower, Produce and Craft Show at Melksham Assembly Hall on Sunday 13th September. Without any outside space? Join volunteers at Conigre Mead Nature Reserve (by Sainsbury’s) https://volunteering.wiltshirewildlife.org/volunteers/opportunity/10194889 or help Melksham Green Space, whose members plant trees.
Jessica Thimbleby for Melksham Environment Group
Info@mkmeg.org.uk
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