Anja Murray: Making space for nature in our own plot of land
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Many of us care deeply about nature. We feel a tenderness toward the non-human creatures we encounter in our daily lives, for example the small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies; robins and blackbirds; and red-tailed bumblebees. The species we encounter on a regular basis tend to be those that have been able to adapt to human induced changes in the landscape. Some are even thriving.
We know too that many species haven’t been able to adapt to the rapid pace of change and are disappearing from places where they have been at home for thousands of years. These include the 18% of Ireland’s native butterflies and a third of the 100 bee species here that are under threat of extinction. A quarter of all resident bird species are now on the red list of Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland, meaning the highest level of concern for the future viability of their populations here.
This knowledge can make us feel sad, fearful and powerless, especially when we see how sidelined the public and political appetite to reverse these trends is. Taking action to protect and restore nature in your garden or on your farm, in the face of a prevailing system that drives continuous growth, profit and destruction, can feel like a drop in the ocean.
Yet making space for nature can have an impact far beyond the footprint of your own plot of land.
For a start, taking positive action to help threatened wild species is a powerful antidote to the despair that comes with acknowledging the scale of loss we are facing.
Becoming familiar with wild creatures in or near where we live can help us to heal our deeply damaged relationship with the natural world. Watching the flight of swifts, swallows, and housemartins on a summer's evening is a joyous experience; one that we can experience daily if we cater for their needs in and around our human habitations by leaving appropriate cavities in the eaves of old stone buildings, leaving a gap in the barn door for swallows to pass through, and even erecting purpose build swift nest boxes. The swifts and swallows clearly benefit, and the impact on our own mental health can be significant.
Converting parts of the lawn in to a long meadow by easing up on mowing through the spring and summer months can be enlightening too. In my own plot, wild orchids popped up after only two years of reduced summer mowing. Seeing the delicate mauve flowers of cuckoo flower (lady’s smock) decorate the damp parts of the lawn in April is a springtime treat, especially when followed by an abundance of orange-tipped white butterflies, who lay their eggs on the leaves of the cuckoo flowers. Orange-tip butterflies are one of the species that are still rated as common, yet their numbers have undergone significant decline in the past 20 years, so providing some sanctuary for them is certainly worthwhile.
Becoming familiar with what’s near us and what species are most in need will in turn prompt us to consider providing habitats in which they can nest, roost and feed. Native trees and shrubs will provide a diversity within the wild food chains that support crucial invertebrates, which make up the protein rich feed that nesting birds need in spring.
Hazel, crab apple, rowan, guelder rose, and spindle are all gorgeous natives to have in any garden, along with native climbers such as wild honeysuckle and dog rose. These are natural larders for bees, butterflies, moths, and mammals such as shrews, mice and bats — and for lots of different wild birds too. Even just allowing ivy to clamber over the wall offers opportunities for nesting birds as well as energising nectar from ivy flowers in late summer and berries in the heart of winter. Keep feeding the birds if it gives you pleasure, but be mindful that offering them the resources with which to help themselves is going to be far more impactful than feeders.
Click here for information on creating a pond
Creating a pond will provide much needed habitat for frogs, newts, damselflies and dragonflies, all of which need aquatic areas to breed. As wild species find their way in, prepare to be enchanted by the antics of mating frogs in March and the flight of colourful damselflies and dragonflies in summer.
Being discerning in where we chose to turn our attention is worth considering too. Placing out feeders for grey squirrels, for example, won't have a wider positive impact on wildlife. Blue tits and robins and other common visitors to our bird feeders, bring joy by their presence in the garden, but consider targeting efforts to those species that are especially in need of concerted conservation action.
- Learn to recognise a few of the butterflies that you see regularly
- Try to spot the difference between bees and their hoverfly mimics
- Refrain from using chemicals such as slug pellets, ant spray or any pesticides
- Assess what you can do to accommodate swallows, swifts and housemartins when they arrive back from their 9,000 kilometre return migration in April; perhaps you can help by providing space in shed or the barn and enhancing the volume of diversity of native plants that support the small flying insects upon which they feed
- Plant a copse of native trees and shrubs
- Create a pond
- Learn a new species every week
- Be inspired
Making space for nature in whatever parcel of land you have access to won’t change the world, but it may just be enough to prevent another bee, hoverfly or butterfly species from disappearing in your townland. Catering to the needs of threatened wildlife will resonate in the values of those around you as well as bringing joy in 2025 and beyond.
- Anja Muray’s bestselling book, , published by Hachette Ireland, is coming out in paperback on January 9.