Enhancing local biodiversity

The new office at Dunkeld has a small mature garden, which will be enhanced with native species and a small pond to encourage wildlife.

The use of pesticides and herbicides will be minimised or totally negated and the composting of garden and kitchen waste will be introduced.

Biodiversity and development

Across our countryside, hedgerows continue to be destroyed for more intensive agriculture, marshes are drained for development, water is polluted from a variety of sources and rivers are turned into tight drain-like channels.

In gardens, there has been a long tradition of applying toxic chemicals to rid them of insects and weeds and everywhere there is a tendency to over-tidy green spaces, reducing the provision of food and shelter to local wildlife. The effect is felt by many species of birds, plants and animals in the UK, which are now in decline.

Minimising the resources consumed by a development helps to reduce impact on biodiversity in far-flung places where the resources are extracted or harvested and generally reduce the footprint of the building. But local biodiversity can be directly impacted - either positively or negatively - through alterations to the grounds surrounding the building and changes in levels of pollution (including light and sound) emanating from the building.

Local biodiversity can be actively encouraged and enhanced by the suitable choice of plants, trees and shrubs for shelter and food, the sympathetic management of the grounds, as well as by providing additional bird feeders and bird houses. A simple audit of the office's pot plants can also ensure that they are planted in peat-free compost

Improving biodiversity and benefits

Much can be done to provide suitable habitats for animals and plants, even on the smallest urban site. In doing so, there can be many additional benefits, such as:

• positioning flora to improve the energy efficiency characteristics of a building. Even climbing plants can be used to help retain warmth in a building;
• planting trees and hedges as part of a pollution reduction strategy of local and regional impact;
• creating a valued social amenity and enhancing local community by providing trees, green spaces and water features;
• increase in staff well-being. Seats and bird feeders can be positioned to create a quiet area for contemplation and staff can be given the opportunity to contribute in many small ways such as by providing the bird feed for the office bird table.

There is a good deal of evidence to support the idea that our well-being is enhanced by views of, or contact with, the natural environment. Increasing biodiversity in your garden or office grounds is a win-win situation for staff, wildlife and the environment alike.

Planting for biodiversity

Plant wildlife-friendly trees, hedges, shrubs or plants:

• berry or fruit-bearing trees such as crab apple, bird cherry, holly or rowan are all small trees that look wonderful in the spring and autumn and help the local wildlife at the same time;
• neat garden shrubs such as hebe, berberis, spirea, quince, cotoneaster, forsythia, daphne, mahonia or viburnam are all great for wildlife;
• climbers such as honeysuckle, ivy, wisteria and clematis;
• scented flowers - lavender, sweet rocket, night-scented stock, tobacco plant;
• herbs such as borage, fennel, hyssop, rosemary, lovage, lemon balm, bergamot, sage, marjoram or tansy;
• early flowerers (for bees and other insects): snowdrops, grape hyacinth, wild daffodil, primrose, lungwort, honesty, wallflower, forget-me-not and violet;
  
  late flowerers (for bees and butterflies): michaelmas daisy, phlox, autumn crocus, scabious, golden rod, sedum and winter aconite;
• leave some grass long - vast, immaculate lawns are a desert for wildlife. You can scallop the edges of longer grass to show that it is still being managed, albeit differently, or cut at different graded heights so that there is a neat edge, a longer middle section and an uncut back section (all the different heights are good for a variety of invertebrates);
• don't over-tidy - leave seeds and stalks for hibernating insects and winter feed for birds;
• have a dead wood pile to encourage toads, hedgehogs, or just insects to hibernate.