Biodiversity in Your School - Cork County Council

Biological DiversityBiological diversity means the variety of life. This includes plants, animals, thehabitats in which they live and all the natural activities that link these thingstogether. It is not just rare or threatened species but includes all living things.Scientists currently estimate that there is 1.9 million different species of livingthings on earth but they also think that this is only a small portion of what is reallyout there.All of us can help in keeping all thesespecies safe. We don’t have to travelto exotic forests or high mountains; wecan act locally to help with theprotection of Ireland’s biodiversity. Byencouraging our local biodiversity inschool gardens it;• Helps us to learn about and enjoyour Irish wildlife;• Makes all our school visitors andlocal communities aware ofIreland’s important biodiversity. Thiscan help with people’s attitudetowards nature;• Helps to pass on a healthy andfunctioning planet to all the futuregenerations, a bio-diversecommunity is a healthy one.Ecosystems, which are the woodlands,lakes and all different habitat typesyou can think of, support us in manyways. They provide services thatprotect us from bad weather eventssuch as floods. The animals thatinhabit them pollinate fruit which wecan then harvest. Insects keep our soilsfertile and full of nutrients so that wecan grow food and other plants.Clean air to breath is ensured by thediversity of trees present in manydifferent habitats. All these reasonsand a lot more make biodiversityhighly important to us having healthyand happy lives.There are lots of ways to encouragebiodiversity in your school garden. Byfollowing some very simple steps youcan create many mini habitats forcommunities of bugs, grow miniwoodlands and meadows, attractmany different types of birds and eveninvite a mammal or two into yourgarden.Biodiversity in your school

Moving in...Habitats do not have to be hugeforests or vast deserts. One of the mostimportant contributors to biodiversity inwoodlands is dead or decaying wood.This can come from fallen or old treesor from piles left after a tree has beenchopped down. These logs or deadwood can provide a mini-habitat forbugs and insects, mosses, fungi anddifferent mushroom types, amphibianssuch as frogs and even some smallmammals like hedgehogs. It is simpleto make a log pile in your garden andin doing so you create many minihabitats and places for animals tofeed, rest and eat. Any branches,pieces of wood or cuttings you havecan be loosely put together in a nottoo shady but not too sunny area tocreate the right conditions for plentyof animals to move in.Log piles can be important forbiodiversity in a number of ways. Notonly do they provide a habitat foranimals but they can provide shelterfor some animals to hide frompredators, provide dark and moistplaces for fungii and plants to grow onand bugs to hide in. These provide afood source for birds and mammalssuch as hedgehogs. Log piles and oldwood are most effective when there ismoisture present so burying some ofthem slightly may increase yourchances of attracting some visitors.Similarly, rock piles and leaf piles canprovide shelter for insects, birds,amphibians and mammals. They canBiodiversity in your school

also create moist areas by preventingthe soil surface from drying out. Settingthese up is very similar to setting up alog-pile. Loosely arrange the rocks orleaves where they will be able toretain some moisture, which meansnot in direct sunlight!Use bundles of twigs or bound upstraw in and around the log or rockpiles. They will provide resting andhibernation hideaways for insects.Even if you cannot make a log pile,you can make a simple bug box. Youcan just make a small box out ofwood, put some different sized holes inthe walls to allow the bugs to get in, fillit with some old plant stems andmount it on a tree or wall. It will be anideal place for insects such asladybirds.Getting wetYou could consider building a smallpond or water feature. You may thenfind insects different from those in yourother mini-habitats. You will find newplants that require certain moistureconditions and maybe even someamphibians.Biodiversity in your school

Height and LightVegetation in the wild is split into anumber of different layers; the flowerlayer is close to the ground with theshrub layer being higher than that butnot as high as the tree layer. Creatingdifferent plant layers in your gardencan encourage biodiversity asdifferent insects and other animalsmay live at different levels.If you don’t have space to havedifferent layers in your garden there isno need to worry, as other ways ofattracting different animals can beused. By using plants of different sizesand growth patterns, you can createareas of light and shade in yourgarden. This means that animals thatlike shaded areas may live there aswell as animals that spend more timein the open. Try and keep grasses atdifferent heights, some short and somelong. This will create a wider variety ofgrass habitat for insects. You canmake the most of the space you haveby planting some creeping plants nearwalls or on a trellis - Gardens can goup as well as spread out!Invite birds into your gardenwith these food species(some are good for insects too!)• Bramble • Holly• Crab Apple • Elder• Hawthorn • BroomBiodiversity in your school

By planting a wildflower meadow or aborder of flowering plants you mightencourage some butterflies and otherinsects into your garden. Try to plantspecies that are rich in nectar orpollen and you will attract moreinsects. By planting species which arerich in berries and seeds you willattract more bird species.When planting, make sure you plantnative species of flowers, grasses,shrubs and trees. Using native speciesmeans they will be more suited to yoursoils and will prevent the spread ofspecies that are not welcome here.Bring in some insectswith these species• Devils-bit Scabious• Common nettle• Thistle species• HoneysuckleEven without planting you canencourage an increase in biodiversityby leaving a ‘wild corner’ in yourgarden. By leaving plants grow todifferent sizes without cutting andmanaging them you leave plenty ofmini habitats for small creatures andinsects.Flying visitsBuilding bird tables or bird boxes willattract the bird species to your gardenalso. To invite in some more flyingcreatures you can put up some batboxes. Make sure your bird boxes donot face into direct sunlight and aresheltered from the rain to provide thebest homes for visiting birds. Hopefullyyou will see your boxes occupied inthe Spring by new families of birds.To attract different types of birds toyour garden you can provide differenttypes of food. Nuts, seeds, fruit, somekitchen scraps and even some fatfrom cooking will attract different birdtypes. Maybe you can do a weeklysmall collection of food from home inyour class, or make some feeders? Justmake sure and move the feedingspots regularly to avoid against anunwelcome visitors.•Wren• Blackbird• ChaffinchSome two winged visitorsyou might attract• Robin• Goldfinch• Blue tit•Song Thrush•Greenfinch• SiskinBiodiversity in your school

Birdwatch Ireland have an easy tofollow factsheet on building bird boxeson their website and have lots ofadvice and tips on feeding birds too!www.birdwatchireland.ieBat Conservation Ireland haveguidelines for building bat boxes ontheir website under ‘publications’.www.batconservationireland.orgUnwanted guestsSome insects and bugs might seemlike unwanted guests in your garden.They may feed on some of the plantsthat establish themselves in yourhabitats. Pesticides that are used to killoff unwanted insects are not good forbiodiversity and will cause an upset inthe natural balance of your garden.You can however control unwantedinvaders naturally with species that willfeed on them. This in turn will increaseyour biodiversity value! Greenfly canform huge populations in a gardenand eat their way through yourvegetables and delicate plants. Otherbugs and small creatures such asladybirds and lacewings feed on theseand keep them under control. Thebug boxes and straw bunches areperfect habitat for these feeders andthey will help keep your nasties at acontrollable level. Hedgehogs too canbe a great friend to the gardener asthey love to eat slugs.There are certain species of plantsthat are not native to Ireland whichcan actually cause a decrease inbiodiversity. These plants should not beplanted as they spread easily in thewild because they have no naturalpredators to control them. This meansthat they can outcompete our ownnative species for light and space.Do not plant these aliens!• Himalayan balsam• Pot marigold• Yellow corydalis• Sticky groundsel• Water primrose• PennywortThese are just examples so make sureand checkwww.invasivespeciesireland.ieif you are unsure.Biodiversity in your school

Habitats for biodiversityMany of these methods are basedaround creating ‘mini-habitats’.Generally if you have more minihabitatsin your garden you will findmore bio-diverse communities ofanimals. Mini-habitats create differentniches for animals to live in. Thinkabout creating habitats such as ahedgerow, a meadow, a miniwoodland, a stone wall or a pond forexample.Learn Morewww.batconservation.orgInformation on Irelands bat species and their conservation.www.birdwatchireland.ieLots of information on Irelands birdlife. The kids zone section of the website haseasy to follow information and instructions about feeding garden birds.www.greenschoolsireland.org has lots of information about biodiversity ingardens as well as biodiversity generally.www.heritagecouncil.ieDownload Eanna Ní Lamhnas Wild Things at School Booklet and explore theHeritage In Schools Programme on this website.www.noticenature.ieAccess the notice nature junior page for lots of information about Irelandsbiodiversity.www.wildflowersofireland.netA brilliant resource showcasing Irelands wild flowers by season and colour.www.geneticheritageireland.ie/growingwild/Some good tips on eco friendly gardening and getting your wild garden started.Biodiversity in your school

Prepared by Cork County Council HeritageUnit as an action of the Cork CountyBiodiversity Action Plan, 2012. Photos kindlyprovided by Clare Heardman, Terry O’Reganand Seán Casey.This leaflet can be downloaded fromwww.corkcoco.ie/heritage