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The Financial Times has a good article about rebuilding an old property to ensure that barn owls still had nest access, and other city or country additions being made.

Rewilding your suburban garden and the difference it can make. My own garden is certainly making a major difference in my area.

This city man moved to a small farm and made it no-spray, light-touch, regenerative agriculture. Here he talks about the wisdom of his older neighbouring farmers about how bird life, farms and seasonal migration are connected, the natural biodiverse soil, and how he is inspired to write poetry.

"In addition to diverting rainwater, Ms Burt-Fitzgerald said that the planters act as a bio-retention because the plants within them filter out the water.

"It also provides habitat for urban pollinators and wildlife. So we are creating little pockets of biodiversity and little eco systems in usually grey, sterile areas.
...

The rain garden project also involves scientists at University College Dublin (UCD) who are examining data from measuring the water inflow and outflow of planters.

Sarah Cotterill, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at UCD, said that while rain garden planters have multiple benefits, one of the challenges is that there has been little analysis of their impact on the drainage network.
...

Early adopters of the pilot project are already seeing the benefits of having a garden planter.

Liz McLaren, who lives in Stoneybatter, had a planter installed outside her house and says that it attracts wildlife.

"It really encourages wildlife, all the bees and hoverflies - everything's coming up.

"Even this morning I saw lots of action with lots of insects there. So, it's great to see and I feel like I’m doing my bit.""

Local habitats go larger in what is now called a bioregion.

This article is from a Latvian news site.



"A bioregion in a narrow sense is an area where organic farming is practiced, but in a broader sense also where sustainable redistribution of resources is practiced. The first initiative of this kind in Latvia is being implemented in the territory of the Gauja National Park, said Elgars Felcis, a researcher at the University of Latvia, and Lāsma Ozola, representative of the association "Green Fest", in the Latvian Radio programme "Zināmais nezināmajā".

The benefits of diversity for people and nature are often discussed, but the question of whether biodiversity and healthy ecosystems in nature are compatible with human farming and profit is often left unanswered.

Bioregions - areas where boundaries are defined not by administrative divisions, but by a biodiverse ecosystem - are small islands between the urban environment and the industrialised countryside.

"Bioregion is a term used in many parts of Europe to refer to areas that strive for a more organic, environmentally friendly approach. Often this is also linked to the promotion of organic farming in the region, but the variety is quite wide," said Felcis.

"If we look more narrowly, these are the areas where we are specifically developing organic farming.

If we look at bioregions in a broader context, we are looking at sustainable resource management and not just agricultural land, but all the resources we consume - both domestic and imported," explained Ozola."

EcoWatch provides an article on beneficial insects and other mini wildlife, in your garden. Has photos of worms.



"To attract ladybugs to your garden, grow plants with flat flowers or those in the parsley family like carrots, fennel, dill, parsley and yarrow, as well as marigolds and calendula. If you buy ladybugs from a nursery, resist the urge to put them in the garden right away �� without a source of food, they’ll fly away. Put the container in the fridge for 6-8 hours before releasing them. This slows them down so they don’t fly off when you open the container. Release the bugs at twilight or right before dawn somewhere in the yard that has flowering plants or aphids for them to eat. "

"On International Biodiversity Day, the wildflower meadow at Trinity College in Dublin city centre is a blooming good demonstration of how to promote biodiversity in urban spaces.

The formal lawns at Trinity's front gates were dug up in July 2020 after a public vote.

They were replaced with meadow lawn turf that included 25 types of native Irish wildflower.

Almost three years on, the wildflowers are in bloom on College Green, and the project continues to turn heads.

Jane Stout, professor in botany in TCD School of Natural Sciences and deputy chair of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, said: "Whereas before we had the short, tightly cropped lawn looking very pristine, we now have this quite variable, to some, quite messy-looking, more biodiverse frontage to our university.

"It's important to make this a talking point because the biodiversity crisis and the loss of biodiversity is something people really aren’t very aware of.""

Sometimes the habitat is there, we just need to leave it alone for a change.
Trinity College stopped mowing the lawn and orchids appeared.



Orchid seeds have no food store, so they remain underground for years, co-operating with fungi for nutrients. Then they emerge as sprouts, but it seems they were getting mown down unknowingly.
Now two species are flowering.

Wonderful! How lovely!

I must have a look next time I'm in town. Not in as often now my studies are on line.

More encouragement to make your garden a mini biodiversity reserve.

A short animated film about creating small woodlands. Set in Ireland, but applies widely.

Victoria LK Williams sends me a photo of a squirrel relaxing.

"We all make sure that our pets are taken care of in the heat, but what about the wild animals that share your space? This poor guy was cooling himself off on the glass of the table outside my window. But don't feel too bad for him; a few seconds later he was playing in the birdbath.
I make sure that the birdbath is filled with clean water every morning. Both the birds and the squirrels seem to appreciate this. And I have a sneaky suspesion the racoons play in the water at night. I also make sure the feeders are full so they don't have to work so hard to find food. There is plenty of shade in the yard, too. In this heat, every one needs a helping hand."

The good news is that small farmers can make a massive difference. By creating a biodiversity reserve, they provide a safe place for nature and allow the various species peace to live and reproduce.


"A farm has been transformed into a 'mini nature reserve' following two years of work by a retired couple in Co Durham.

Terence and Tracy Featherstone inherited High Meadows Farm in Coundon, Bishop Auckland, from Terence's parents. It had previously been the site of two coal mines, been a working farm for 60 years and hosted a greyhound stadium for 30 years.

With the help of the Forestry Commission, the couple has planted some 22,000 trees of 14 different species. Wildlife has already moved in, with birds among the beneficiaries.

Terence Featherstone said: "We went to a talk by the National Farmers Union' about woodland and it inspired us. In Britain, we only have 13% of our woodland left compared to 50% in Germany and France. We just thought we had to do something."


Lovely photo of a barn owl.

Looks nice.
Near the Forest, By the Lake: Discovering Nature Close to Home by Angela E. Douglas