Gardens and Allotments

Gardens and allotments are those areas of land that are managed for personal enjoyment. They are places in which the private citizen can have the greatest impact on biodiversity. Gardens can include a wide variety of habitats such as trees, areas of grass, flower and shrub borders, water features, and also areas for growing food. This range of habitats can support a number of resident species by providing them with food throughout the year, as well as resting and breeding sites. In addition, gardens can also be very important for migratory birds and insects.

Allotments are a haven for wildlife, the cultivated and empty plots, nectar producing plants, compost heaps, grass areas, sheds and stores, and the boundary hedges and banks all provide a variety of habitats, attracting birds, insects and small mammals.

The varied habitats within gardens and allotments are used by a number of species. These include birds such as the Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos), Blackbird (Turdus merulus), House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus), Robin (Erithacus rubecula), Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes). They are also important for Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus), Frogs and Toads, butterflies such as Comma (Polygonia c-album), Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) and Brimstone (Gonepterix rhamni) as well as ladybirds, spiders and snails. Gardens and allotments also provide insect rich feeding areas for bat species especially pipistrelles and Whiskered bats (Myotis mystacinus) to feed after dusk.

Current Status

Gardens are found across the UK, and cover about 3% of the land surface of England and Wales. Individual gardens vary in size, structure and management. They may be anything from an isolated green patch, to a sizeable complex of neighbouring properties, which may be important to biodiversity in their own right. Gardens and allotments can act as an important extension of, or a corridor between, other habitats important for biodiversity.

There are over 13 000 ha of allotment in the UK, most of which are in towns and cities and make a valuable contribution to greenspace. The older, well-established allotments are of greatest wildlife interest. Hedgerows and trees, patches of Bramble and Hawthorn scrub and abandoned plots are features of particular importance. It has been shown that allotments have, on average, up to 30% higher species diversity than urban parks.

Private gardens cover a large proportion of the City area. Collectively they provide wildlife with a rich diversity of habitats in which they feed and breed making an important contribution to Hull's overall wildlife resource. The value of any individual garden for wildlife will depend on its size, age, location and management. A garden with high plant diversity, plenty of cover and areas where wild plants are allowed to flourish, has the potential to attract and support a wide range of plants and animals. Numerous allotments are scattered throughout Hull covering approximately 65 ha.

Current Factors Affecting the Habitat

• Large gardens and allotments are increasingly under threat because they are very attractive to developers for housing and commercial development. Development leads to fragmentation of habitats as well as direct loss.
  
  
• The biodiversity of gardens and allotments is at risk from the use of herbicides and pesticides, which directly reduce the number of plant and invertebrate species. These also have consequences for predatory species, for example, Song Thrush and Hedgehogs can be poisoned by eating slugs and snails that have been killed by slug pellets.
  
  
• Vegetation within gardens and allotments is largely planted and intensively maintained. It is often of an ornamental nature, commonly involving introduced species. Naturally colonising species are viewed as weeds and removed. Excessive 'tidiness' removes areas of shelter and food for many species.
  
  
• Many species, particularly birds, are disturbed by too much human activity, which interferes with their normal lifecycles.

Current Action

Legal Status

Gardens, like any piece of land, are subject to planning controls. However, very few are protected from development purely because of their biodiversity.

The modern legislation covering allotments has developed bit by bit, with various Allotment Acts being introduced between 1908 and 1950. The various acts are still mostly in force and continue to define many aspects of allotment provision. The legislation places a duty upon local authorities to provide allotments where there is demand. Beyond this requirement, the most important feature of the legislation is the protection it provides for 'statutory' sites owned by local authorities. Within the allotment legislation, there are various restrictions placed on the use of allotment sites. The Government has recommended that the main restrictions on the use of allotments are repealed, in particular, decisions over the use to which plots may be put, particularly concerning use for growing flowers, site shops and the sale of produce, and the keeping of livestock. The Government recommends that these decisions be made on a site-by-site basis by the Local Authority or allotment society.

Management, Research and Guidance

English Nature produces a free leaflet 'Wildlife-Friendly Gardening' that provides information on how to develop and manage gardens for wildlife.

Allotment gardeners make an important contribution to the maintenance of biodiversity in a number of ways. Many gardeners save their own seeds, a process of selection that enhances the gene pool. The act of cultivation itself encourages a range of wild plants; allotments are important for such species, as they are becoming increasingly scarce in the surrounding countryside. Uncultivated corners of individual plots, compost bins, and untenanted areas within sites all offer significant habitats for wildlife.

Hull City Council employs an Allotments Officer who is responsible for all the council-owned allotments within the City.

Hull and East Riding Organic Gardeners Association (HEROGA) promote organic gardening and growing. They hold monthly meetings with visits to member's gardens and allotments. Members can swap seeds, plants, books and magazines and keep in touch with organic issues. The association also produces a regular newsletter.

Action Plan Aims

1. To encourage provision of bird and bat boxes in gardens and allotments.
2. To promote supplementary feeding of garden birds, especially during the winter and spring.
3. To encourage people to plant native trees and shrubs in their gardens rather than exotic ornamental species.
4. To promote wildlife friendly gardening e.g. old CD's on wire as safe and effective bird deterrents, beer traps for slugs.
5. To support planting of native hedgerows around allotment boundaries.
6. To encourage creation of garden ponds to attract wildlife to gardens.
7. To discourage the use of potentially harmful chemicals in gardens and allotments and promote organic alternatives.
8. To develop demonstration wildlife gardens.
9. To collect information on species present in gardens and allotments.

What We Are Going to Do

What we can all do

• Put bird and bat boxes in suitable places in our gardens.
• Feed the creatures in our gardens by planting nectar-rich flowers for butterflies and other insects and feeding garden birds.
• Grow suitable food plants for butterfly caterpillars.
• Consider planting native trees and shrubs rather than ornamental varieties.
• Make a wildlife pond to attract amphibians and insects.
• Avoid over-tidiness - Many of our butterflies depend on Nettles as food for their caterpillars, seed heads left on over winter provide food for birds and broken plants pots can give shelter to amphibians and reptiles.
• Avoid use of chemicals - slug pellets can poison birds, amphibians and mammals.
• Use sustainable peat alternatives.
• Send for information on gardening for wildlife, such as English Nature's free leaflet on 'Wildlife-Friendly Gardening'.
• Look out for wildlife articles in gardening magazines.

Links With Other Action Plans

This plan should be considered along with those for Grassland, Parks, Cemeteries and Golf Courses, Trees, Scrub and Hedgerow and Freshwater Habitats. Related Species Action Plans are those for Elm, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Brimstone Butterfly, Common Toad and Hedgehog.

References

House of Commons, Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs. Select Committee on Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Fifth Report (1998) The Future of Allotments. The House of Commons, Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs.

Cambridge County Council (2000) Allotments Local Habitat Action Plan for Cambridgeshire. Cambridge County Council.

Crouch, D., Sempik, J., Wiltshire, R. (2000) Growing in the Community: A Good Practice Guide for the Management of Allotments. Local Government Authority.

DEFRA (2000) Peat Alternatives: A Review of Performance, Future Availability and Sustainability for Commercial Plant Production in the UK. DEFRA

Ealing Local Agenda 21 Allotments Group (2000) Biodiversity Action Plan for Allotments. (Retrieved November 2001 from http://www.allotments.org.uk)

English Nature (2001) Wildlife-Friendly Gardening: A General Guide. English Nature, Peterborough.