Your Nature Spaces
What can you do?
Whatever size space you have to work with, from window box to fields, there are lots of things you can do to help wildlife.
Here are some ideas below. You can also find lots more ideas and advice from the External Links to the right, or call us on 01354 654321 to see how we can help.
- How about growing some colourful flowers to attract bees and butterflies, and then in the winter leave out bird food or seed heads to feed the birds. - Create a little wildlife haven in a quiet corner, perhaps with a little toad abode or a patch or tall grass and wildflowers? Put out food and water for birds and see who comes to visit your garden. - Dig a pond or bog garden to provide water for a whole range of friendly wildlife. Plant native trees or a hedge. Choose native species with berries to keep the birds fed during the winter. Put up a bat or owl box or plant a small woods.
Window Boxes - How about growing some colourful flowers to attract bees and butterflies, and then in the winter leave out bird food or seed heads to feed the birds.
Small Gardens - Create a little wildlife haven in a quiet corner, perhaps with a little toad abode or a patch or tall grass and wildflowers? Put out food and water for birds and see who comes to visit your garden.
Large Gardens or Open Spaces - Dig a pond or bog garden to provide water for a whole range of friendly wildlife. Plant native trees or a hedge. Choose native species with berries to keep the birds fed during the winter. Put up a bat or owl box or plant a small woods.
Wildlife Activities
As well as keeping an eye out for organised events, you can find materials to investigate wildlife in your local area via the external links to the right, especially from the BBC Breathing Places and Nature Detectives.
Who Can Help?
At Fenland District Council, we have a varied team who may be able to help with ideas, advice and events. These include our Environmental Projects Officer, Street Pride Coordinator, Parks & Open Spaces Team. Give us a call on 01354 654321, we may surprise you with what we can help with. We also work alongside other FDC teams plus local environmental organisations and voluntary groups.
Funding Help
For individuals, you best bet is to look out for offers on locally, including at garden centres or organisations doing projects to local to you. There are also lots of things you can do for free or very cheaply for wildlife, for example using broken plant pots or old wooden boxes for animal homes, or collecting your own seeds from your garden flowers to plant next year.
For formally constituted community groups, there are lots of funding grant sources available, all the way from small local grants (including from District and County Councils) to large funding pots from national bodies. Check out the External Links to the right for the Biodiversity Partnership, Green Space Funding Search and the Council for Voluntary Service websites. Give us a call if you'd like advice or help on applying for funding.
For schools, there are also funds or sometimes materials available, for example tree planting kits from the Woodland Trust. The Eco Schools website also has lots of ideas and a link to funding available to schools. Some community grants don't always extend to schools, however you could find out whether a parent & teacher voluntary group might be able to apply instead.
For businesses, you might be eligible for a capital investment grant from the Fenland Green Business Club to improve the environmental performance of your company (see Related Pages link). Wildlife related examples of this could include a ponds within a sustainable drainage system for your site runoff or a green roof that also provides thermal and noise insulation for a building. For land management, including farming, you may be eligible for funding through Natural England's Environmental Stewardship schemes (see External Links).
Contact Us
If you would like to get involved, would like help creating your own breathing place or would like help in running your own wildlife event, please us at nature@fenland.gov.uk or on 01354 654321.
