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| Nestbox |
RSPB aims to tackle housing crisis
with plans to build one million homes in the UK
Nature charity needs Merseysides help
with its biggest ever campaign. The RSPB has today launched a campaign to help
tackle the housing crisis facing the UK s threatened wildlife. Giving Nature a
Home will urge the nation to provide a place for wildlife in their own gardens and
outside spaces.
The charity hopes to inspire people in
Merseyside to help towards creating a million new homes for nature across the
UK.
The launch of the campaign comes a
month after 25 wildlife organisations, including the RSPB, released the
groundbreaking State of Nature report revealing 60 per cent of the wildlife
species studied have declined over recent decades.
Many garden favourites in Merseyside
were among the creatures shown to be in serious trouble including starlings,
hedgehogs, some butterflies and ladybirds. All are in danger of further
declines unless more is done to provide better habitats.
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| Young starlings |
Getting individuals and families from
Merseyside to act for nature in their own gardens is the first part of a
package of actions that the RSPB is launching in response to the State of
Nature. Over the course of the next few months, the charity will be outlining
what businesses, communities and politicians in the county can do, as well as
detailing the RSPB's own plans for saving nature.
Amanda Miller, RSPB Conservation
Manager for Northern England, says: Nature in the UK is in trouble and some of our
more familiar garden species are amongst those suffering serious declines.
Merseyside gardens provide a valuable lifeline for species like starlings,
toads, hedgehogs and butterflies, which are struggling to find homes in the wider
countryside.
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| Hedgehog box |
Although the overall problem is huge,
the solution can start on a small scale, right on our doorsteps. It doesn’t
matter what sort of garden you have, what size it is, or even if you have no
garden at all, we need everyone to help by turning their outside space into a
wildlife haven.
The more people that get involved in
our Giving Nature a Home campaign the better. Our aim is to provide one million
homes for nature across the UK, because if there s no home for nature, then there
s no nature it really is that serious.
TV homes expert, Linda Barker, is one
of the famous faces supporting the campaign. She said: I m getting behind the RSPB s campaign because,
to me, having wildlife in your garden is the perfect finishing touch to any
home.
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| Frogs in garden pond |
Planting wild flowers, digging a pond or creating a log pile for bugs is
not just a good way of getting creative and making your garden more attractive, but it
will also benefit threatened garden wildlife at the same time. Individual
actions will make a difference and start to help tackle the lack of habitats
for some of our wild creatures. In my garden I’ve put up a nest box for birds
and planted nectar-rich flowers to attract bees.
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| Red admiral on sedum |
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| Small copper & bee |
If everyone can do just one
thing and gave nature a home in their outside space it would be amazing - together
we can make a big difference.
To help spread the word, the RSPB has
joined up with Rightmove, the UK's number one property website, to help promote
the campaign to homeowners, renters and those looking to get onto the property
ladder.
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| Bee box |
Matt James from Rightmove, said: Though we re more used to helping people find
a home than helping them build one, when the RSPB told us about the parlous
position of some of the UK s favourite species we felt compelled to throw our
support behind the campaign. More than a million people visit Rightmove every
single day looking for a new place to call home and we’ll be doing our bit to
spread the word about just how easy it can be to make a difference.
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| logpile |
To spread the word and inspire
individuals from a across the country to build homes for nature in their own
gardens and balconies, the RSPB is embarking on its first-ever primetime TV
advertising campaign, beginning on 5 July.
Over the coming months the RSPB s
Burton Mere Wetlands reserve on the Dee Estuary and the Ribble Discovery Centre
at Lytham St Anne s will be running a series of events and activities linked to
Giving Nature a Home. For more information, visit www.rspb.org.uk/reserves.
The Giving Nature a Home website will
give everyone access to expert advice about helping nature in any outside space
- whether it s a huge garden or a small planting tub on balcony - at www.rspb.org.uk/homes
By visiting this website people can
get their free Giving Nature a Home starter guide, help populate a map by
telling the charity when and where they ve given nature a home, and share pictures,
tips and ideas with others. You can also
find out more about what the RSPB is doing to give nature a home in the wider countryside.
Recently a little tern colony near Hartlepool had all its eggs robbed by an egg thief.
We walked on the raised broadwalk to the viewing platform and watched the sea coming in. The terns were flying everywhere but we were still some distance away. 
Looking through the waders on the beach we noticed some summer plumaged sanderling. As we got closer to the protected zone we noticed a ringed plover. I wondered if it would do the broken wing thing but it didn't.
Laura wanted to get closer to the terns and you can, as long as you stay out of the nesting area. Nearly 200 little terns are there and it was great to see lots of birds carrying n food and calling. There was of course the odd squabbles and chasing off others in territory disputes.
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