This week so far it's been meeting after meeting but it's been far from boring! Today's Biodiversity Partnership annual outdoor meeting was really good and something I really look forward to every year. This was my second year of being invited to these meetings and I feel very grateful to be a part of them. I won't speak about everything but something I was particularly impressed with was the new housing development we visited in Newport called Loftus Garden Village on corporation road. The aim of the visit was to see how this new development implemented techniques to cater for our wildlife.
Hedgerows instead of fences
As you can see in the image above, instead of typical garden fences that usually keep wildlife out, hedging has been planted.
Hedges are vitally important for nature and especially for nesting birds.
Pond View
The best part for me about this development was the pond. Despite not being there for so long, it was already showing plenty signs of life, with froglets bouncing around the wild flower meadow and diving beetles in the water.
I can imagine the local Foxes loving this little village with no fences to jump and lots of wild pockets to explore. Hedgehogs will certainly make the most of the hedgerows and the wild flower meadow. It doesn't take a lot to attract them to your Gardens.
Something that was overlooked however was the drainage systems, especially those situated around the pond as amphibians will likely fall down them with no way back out so will perish. That may be something they will change / add later on having pointed that detail out.
It was also nice to hear that Bat Holes and nest boxes were built into the roofing of these houses and despite missing them out on the first phase, I was ensured phase 2,3 and 4 will have those boxes built right into the houses.
One thing I wished these houses had was solar power on the roofs. It's clearly not something that major developers are considering, not even green developments like this. Clean energy really needs to become more affordable so that it's no longer seen as an add-on luxury accessory.