( http://www.actsofkindness.org ).
This concept may be extended to conservation with similar benefits.
The wildlife of Broadway Parish, in common with that of any parish, may benefit from even the smallest individual positive acts. Random Acts of Conservation with which the individual can make a difference include:
Erection of a bird box, especially the communal design favoured by the house sparrow.
Reasons for the house sparrow’s decline in the UK are not presently clear. It has been suggested however that modern building designs have done away with many of the nooks and crannies within which sparrows choose to nest. Broadway village boasts many old buildings which still provide such nesting places but the addition of suitable nest boxes onto the side of modern houses may also be beneficial.
Erection of a bat box.
Some species of bats roost in buildings, some in trees, some in both. Bat boxes provide a useful additional roosting place for some species and can help to encourage the local bat population to thrive. Provided they are not too much structurally improved, Broadway’s old buildings can provide roosting places for bats. The shortage of old hollow trees in the village itself is an issue which may be addressed over time.
- Creation of small habitats
The smallest act of environmental enhancement can make a big difference. The façade of a grey tower block can be transformed by the one resident who chooses to rim their balcony with flowers. It is not difficult to imagine what could be achieved if every balcony had its window boxes and hanging baskets. The inner city areas of the great conurbations could be transformed into colourful, vertical habitats of value to bees, butterflies and other insects. It is often the smallest acts which matter. Small habitats which may be created by the individual who has no garden, or other large-scale opportunity include:
- Climbing plants on walls e.g. ivy (Hedera helix), honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)
- Crevices between flag stones (see above)
- Half barrel with aquatic plant species for a pond
- Hanging baskets
- Plant pots with native wild flower species
- Small standing stones to gather lichen and moss
- Window boxes
- Ecologically sympathetic gardening
The best gardens for wildlife have a slightly ragged edge. That is to say, room is left for a few marginal ‘weeds’ upon which the caterpillars of butterflies may feed. Small patches of lawn are left for cowslips and other wild flower species to grow and seed (an excellent example of such creative neglect is to be found at the back of Broadway Library). The most toxic chemicals are restricted in use such that foraging wildlife are less likely to come into contact with them. Openings are left for hedgehogs, toads and other small animal species to pass from garden to garden.
The creation of a garden pond provides significant benefits to many species and will quickly attract wildlife. A visitor to garden ponds in Broadway is the large red damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) which provides a colourful and shimmering display in May and June. Of immediate concern is the population of amphibians on the Sands which were deprived of a breeding pond as a result of development in the 1990s.
