Page 21 - ALG Issue 2 2015

Photo credits: Fox and pigeon by Steve Tullett, great tit by Liz Bunting
‘If we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates were to disappear, the world’s ecosystems would collapse.’ Sir David Attenborough.
If the thousands of Natural England “Wildlife on Allotments” leaflets downloaded from our website are an indication of the interest in wildlife of our members, then we are a society of wildlife lovers, as much as we are keen vegetable growers. However, not all wildlife is welcome by everyone on allotment sites; foxes and badgers can cause a lot of destruction by eating
crops, digging and attacking hens.
Pigeons can strip brassicas not
protected by netting in a morning;
rats attracted to compost heaps
or bins without mesh at the
bottom can spread disease,
but steps can be taken to limit
their effect and there is guidance
available at the following websites:
Fox Deterrence Helpline 01892 514863 http://foxproject.org.uk/
Badgers in Your Garden www.badgergroup.org.uk/garden.pdf
Informative page http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/rats
Pests such as slugs and aphids are wildlife too and part of the ecosystem, but instead of eradicating these completely
with pesticides, which throws things out of balance, we can garden
in a more responsible way that enables beneficial insects and
reptiles to thrive and as a result, reduces the number of pests
to manageable levels. What all of
the conservation organisations
are trying to do is restore the
ecological balance that has been thrown out of kilter by habitat loss, intensive farming, overuse of chemicals and disease. All these organisations have many useful resources on their websites; particularly useful if you run educational courses on your site.
The Society would like to hear about your site’s wildlife area projects and how plotholders work their plots to achieve
a balance that means birds, frogs and beneficial insects co-exist happily with their produce and still avoid a letter from their committee or allotment officer telling them to weed, cut their paths or tidy up their plot. Do you welcome the occasional visit from a fox? Have you found ways of resisting marauding badgers? Please let us know in time for ALG4 – copy deadline 7 September 2015.
www.buglife.org.uk
www.froglife.org www.bumblebeeconservation.org www.wlgf.org
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