Langdyke is creating a new nature reserve … and your garden could be part of it!
Our new reserve – the Langdyke Community Nature Reserve – is made up from a whole range of established and newly created wildlife gardening plots – including yours!
The aim is to bring people together across the local community to promote wildlife friendly gardening, to give nature a chance to recover and to make it easy for everyone to get involved
Taking part is not difficult; it could be as simple as letting the grass grow in one area, putting up a bird box, planting some nature friendly plants or leaving a pile of wood for hedgehogs and other wildlife to live in. It doesn’t even have to be a garden – you could install a window box or put up a bird table.
How can I get involved?
Take a look at your garden – if you already have a wildlife friendly area that’s brilliant. If not, why not consider what extra you could do. Then we want you to measure the area and pledge it to our new wildlife gardening community as a little piece of our eighth reserve.
There is no cost to you and your garden will still be your own.
To pledge, all you need to do is work out what size your wildlife area is in square metres – m² (length in meters x width in meters). If you are unable to measure properly then your best estimate will be fine.
Simply click on the button below to pledge some or all of your outdoor space and that’s it … you are part of a growing nature reserve!
To pledge an area for wildlife gardening please email eighth.reserve@langdyke.org.uk
What am I agreeing to if I pledge?
By pledging you are agreeing to manage your plot for the benefit of wildlife. This can be done in so many different ways.
You are also agreeing to Langdyke Countryside Trust contacting you via email to give you updates about the nature reserve from time to time. We will not share your email address with anyone. For more regular updates please join our Facebook group here.
What happens once I have pledged?
You will receive a confirmation email welcoming you, this will have a certificate you can print off to show your friends and some extra information about the project. You should also start to feel rather excited about the fact that you now have a nature reserve right outside your window!
Does this mean the nature reserve owns my garden?
Not at all, this has got nothing to do with ownership, you are simply choosing to support the project for as long as you wish.
Can my friends take part as well?
We hope that they do, you can help by sharing information about the project on social media and good old-fashioned word of mouth. The more of us involved the better the outcome will be, and you get to experience the same warm feeling you got when you pledged all over again, knowing you are not only a steward of your own plot but also a champion for nature.
I already have some land for wildlife can I pledge, or does it have to be a new project?
Firstly, well done you are brilliant! Secondly, yes you absolutely can pledge that land. If you already are doing lots to help wildlife, then it would be great to have that in the nature reserve as well.
I have never done anything like this before what should I do?
Welcome aboard it is great to have you with us. There are so many possibilities, the best thing to do is a bit of research, you can find more information and examples here.
There are some spaces at work we would like to manage for the benefit of wildlife, can these be part of the reserve?
Absolutely. We would love to have some pledges from local business and farmers etc. Remember it doesn’t have to be all of the land, for example a hedgerow could be pledged.
I plan to build up my space gradually how much should I pledge?
If you plan to improve your current plot and make your nature reserve 10m² but you only have 4m² ready for now, please pledge the full 10m² as it is less complicated for us to log like this.
Example pledges:
- This person has a garden which is 20m x 20m (400m²), they have a hedge at the back which is 75 cm deep (0.75 x 20 = 15m²). This is what they would like to pledge to the reserve and so they pledge 15m².
- This person has dedicated part of their balcony to feeding the birds and another part to pots with bee friendly plants. There are 2 pots both 1m long and 40cm wide (0.4 x 1 = 0.4m²). The limbs of their bird feeder spread over 70cm (0.7 x 0.7 = 0.49m²). Adding both together they have 0.4 + 0.49 = 0.89 m², this would be their pledge.
- This person has built a pond (1m x 2m = 2m²) and decided to manage their whole lawn (5m x 8m = 40m²) for wildlife. They pledge 42m².
- This person decides to manage the whole of their front garden (5m x 5m = 25m²) and the whole of their back garden (5m x 15m = 75m²). They pledge 100m².