Immersive read: Biodiversity-friendly gardens: for a healthier planet and a healthier you

A new free booklet shows how you can help Ireland’s biodiversity in any garden, big or small.

[section][options][type]TWO_COLUMN[/type][fullheight]true[/fullheight][/options][content][column1][sticky][timgfull]biodiversity_juanita.jpg[/timgfull][/sticky][/column1][column2][subhead]As a child, it was my job to remove moths from my big sister’s bedroom. They were common visitors then and she was terrified of them, especially the furry white moths that would flicker around her light. I would cup them in my hands to release them through an open window (but not before pretending to throw them at my sister of course). You rarely see moths indoors any more.Another common occurrence in the 1980s was cleaning bugs off the car windscreen, After a long car journey, our parents would have to stop to clear all the remains of dead insects. Have you noticed this doesn’t happen much any more?Ecologists in the National Biodiversity Data Centre have been measuring declines in Irish insect populations for many years. Take our bees, for example: in Ireland, we have 99 species of bee: one honeybee; 21 Bumblebee species and 77 solitary bee species. Since the 1980s, over half of our bee species have undergone huge declines and one-third are now threatened with extinction. Through our cleaner windscreens, we may be witnessing a collapse in flying insect populations.It is important to mention that insects have been around a very long time – for hundreds of millions of years, and have thrived in every continent except Antarctica, in the air, soil and freshwater. Insects lived on earth long before there were dinosaurs, and long after their disappearance. So why are such successful species now disappearing?It is an important story because it is an indicator of how much we are changing the planet, but also because insects are important – they are important as pollinators of our food, as predators who control other insect pests, and as decomposers that clean up the planet, and because insects are often the base of food chains for countless birds, bats and other mammals.The current rate of extinction is about 1,000 times higher than what it would be in the absence of human activity and exploitation. What legacy is that to leave to future generations?[/column2][/content][/section]

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What can we do?

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Gardening for Biodiversity is good for you!

Small is beautiful

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For the Birds

[section][options][type]TWO_COLUMN[/type][fullheight]true[/fullheight][/options][content][column1][timgfull]biodiversity_bird_1.jpg[/timgfull][/column1][column2][timgfull]biodiversity_bird_2.jpg[/timgfull]Leaving out food for garden birds is a great way to invite nature into your garden. Some people choose to offer food only in winter, while others enjoy feeding their garden visitors all year round.[timgfull=Siskin, Blue Tit, Bullfinch feeding on blackberries. All birds © www.irishgardenbirds.ie]biodiversity_bird_3.jpg[/timgfull][/column2][/content][/section]

[section][options][type]THREE_COLUMN[/type][align]center[/align][/options][content][column2]On top of filling bird feeders, you might like to take a look at what plants are growing in your garden and consider adding plants that provide natural food for birds. For native trees with berries that birds will love, try Alder buckthorn, Bird Cherry, Crab apple, Blackthorn, Elder, Guelder Rose, Honeysuckle, Rowan, Spindle, White Beam, Wild Privet or Yew. Ivy provides good bird cover for nesting. Berries are eaten in late winter, when food is scarce, particularly favoured by Robin, Blackcap, and Thrushes.You can encourage birds to nest in your garden by offering suitable nesting sites, which include trees and hedges. Creeping plants on walls and tree trunks also offer excellent cover for nesting birds. The Treecreeper, Spotted Flycatcher, Wren and Song Thrush are all known to nest under the cover of ivy, clematis or honeysuckle. If erecting nest boxes, place securely on a tall tree as high as possible (2-5m from the ground), facing north-east, in a sheltered spot.[timgfull=Ivy provides good cover for nesting birds, and also hibernating butterflies. Late flowering, in autumn, makes Ivy very important for Bumblebee queens who need to put on weight before hibernation. Ivy berries are very important to birds in late winter, when food is scarce. ]biodiversity_ivy.jpg[/timgfull][/column2][/content][/section]

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[section][options][type]ONE_COLUMN[/type][/options][content][column1][style=color: #5a5a5a; font-size: 17px] © Edward Hill[/style][style=color: #5a5a5a; font-size: 17px] A tightly mown lawn is like a desert for pollinators. The land on the right of the wall above is simply a result of reduced mowing.[/style][/column1][/content][/section]

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Helping the butterflies and bees:

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Create a flower-rich 6-week meadow:

• First cut after April 15th (this will allow Dandelions to flower. Dandelions are a vital food source for pollinators in spring)
• Second cut at end of May (Cutting at the end of May and not again until mid-late July will increase the growth of important plants like Clover, Selfheal, Cuckoo flower and Bird’s-foot-trefoil.
• Third cut in mid-late July (maximises growth of Clovers and other wildflowers)
• Fourth cut end August
• Fifth cut after mid-Octobe

[section][options][type]THREE_COLUMN[/type][align]center[/align][/options][content][column2][timgfull=Dandelion is the most important plant for insects in early spring. From mid-March until mid-May it provides vital food for bees and other early-flying insects such as butterflies. Later, when the flowers disappear, birds feast on the seed-heads. Dandelion seed is a favourite with birds such as the Goldfinch and Greenfinch. The plant’s leaves are also food for some moth larvae, including the lovely Garden Tiger moth. (And not to forget, dandelions allow you make wishes!) Between birds and bees, what more could one flower offer to the world? More dandelions = more biodiversity .]biodiversity_bumblebee.jpg[/timgfull][timgfull=Did you know Clover used to be called ‘bee's bread’?]biodiversity_clover.jpg[/timgfull][/column2][/content][/section]

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Leave an ‘untidy' corner for wildlife

[section][options][type]TWO_COLUMN[/type][/options][content][column1]Leaving an untidy/wild corner of your garden for nettles, bramble and ivy, is a great idea for lots of biodiversity. You might consider keeping leaf litter - or raking it into a pile in your ‘wild corner’ for wildlife. Over the winter months, moth and butterfly larvae - as pupa or caterpillar - are often found in leaf litter. By dumping it, you are raking up a whole generation of these insects, and also affecting the diet the birds that rely on those insects for food.Stinging nettle is the food plant for lots of butterfly caterpillars, including Small Tortoiseshell (below), Red Admiral, Comma and Peacock butterflies. If we want to have these beautiful butterflies as adults, they need nettles as their baby food![timgfull]biodiversity_Liam.jpg[/timgfull][/column1][column2][sticky][timgfull=Small tortoiseshell butterfly © Liam Lysaght]biodiversity_butterfly.jpg[/timgfull][/sticky][/column2][/content][/section]

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[section][options][type]THREE_COLUMN[/type][align]center[/align][/options][content][column2][timgfull=Often underappreciated, or indeed hated, as a thorny, troublesome plant that trips you up on a country walk, Bramble provides vital food for pollinating insects in late summer, and berries for birds and mammals later in the year. Perhaps a corner of your garden could include a bramble patch? You can even clip it back each winter to keep your bramble zone contained. And you can enjoy the blackberries along with the hungry birds in autumn!]biodiversity_blackberries.jpg[/timgfull][/column2][/content][/section]

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Plant Native Trees

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Native flowering hedgerows

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The ‘Long Acre’ - Let your road verge grow naturally

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Create a Wildlife Pond

[section][options][type]FOOTER[/type][/options][content][column1][timgfull]beesarticle_footer.png[/timgfull][/column1][column2]This immersive read was created as part of the Irish Examiner's Sustainability Month initiative and in conjunction with http://www.biodiversityireland.ie. Join the discussion at #IEsustainability.Juanita Browne is a project manager with Biodiversity Ireland's All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.This initiative is supported by: Gas Networks Ireland; Fruithill Farm; and The Heritage Council.BACK TO SUSTAINABLE WEEK 2020[/column2][/content][/section]