Brief Me Collective Rewilding Project
Team London Bridge invited the Brief Me Collective from London College of Communication to respond to the Climate Emergency and Earth Day on 22nd April by creating pilot designs and applications which prompt visitors and the London Bridge community to immerse themselves in nature. Team London Bridge works to enhance biodiversity as part it’s sustainability strategy by integrating nature into the public realm.
The Rewilding project was developed out of the public’s reconnection with nature during the pandemic, where bird song became louder, traffic noise reduced and walks in the fresh air a daily routine. The App being developed will encourage the user to take day and evening walks around the London Bridge area. Starting at the Tooley Street Triangle by London Bridge Station it will eventually be extended to take in more sites such as The Shard and The River encouraging a visualisation of a future aligned with the natural world, transforming our cityscape into urban jungles .
Built Environment Habitat Action Plan:
Southwark is a densely built-up Inner London borough; over 75% of its area occupied by buildings, streets and car parks. However, the built environment can support a number of iconic species and be surprisingly rich in wildlife.
Buildings provide roosts for bats, and nest sites for birds, including raptors such as the, Peregrine falcon, and Kestrels. Swifts, House sparrows, and the Black Redstart all nest in or on buildings and Starlings have been found nesting in the air vents of housing blocks.
We can all enhance the built environment for wildlife and help conserve these species. Green roofs offer a good alternative to brownfield (open mosaic) habitats which are declining. Nesting and roosting sites can be incorporated into new or existing buildings to provide places for bats and birds. These features can be built into the fabric of new buildings or retrofitted to existing ones. Climbers and other forms of green walls can provide nectar for bees and nesting sites for House Sparrows, and other birds. Streets can be greened with trees, hedges and planters full of nectar-rich flowers and have flood alleviation, sustainable drainage systems and traffic calming schemes incorporated into the public realm.
Wildlife Key Species in Southwark:
Notable priority species in Southwark: · Bats · Stag beetle · Common lizard · Slow-worm · Hedgehog · Common frog · Common toad · Smooth newt · Black poplar · Mistletoe · White Letter Hairstreak butterfly · House Sparrow · Swift · Fungi · Peregrine Falcon · Bumble Bees · Corky Fruited Water Dropwort · Native Bluebelle
You can Record your wildlife sightings here.
BEES
Animation made by Gabriela Grozavu
@briefmecollective @huedrop.collective
Southwark Nature in Action Plan reports that there are at least 1,500 species of pollinating insects in the UK. Most are native species of bumblebees, solitary bees, wasps, moths, butterflies, beetles and flies. The honey bee Apis mellifera is considered domestic stock managed in hives by beekeepers. When plant pollen sticks to the bodies of flower visiting insects, it gets transferred between the flowers they visit. This fertilises the plants, allowing them to reproduce and produce fruits and seeds. Pollinators are essential for biodiversity and our wider environment. They maintain the diversity of wild flora and support healthy ecosystems, particularly by helping plants to produce fruits and seeds which birds and other animals (including humans) rely on. Pollinators are of enormous value to human’s thorough agriculture but are also valued and appreciated by the public and, as part of our natural world, and contribute to our health and wellbeing. Pollinators face many pressures, including habitat loss and fragmentation, pests and diseases, extreme weather, competition from invasive species, climate change and pesticide use. Buglife have identified the following national trends for pollinators:
· Half of our 27 bumblebee species are in decline
· Three of these bumblebee species have already gone extinct
· Across Europe 38% of bee and hoverfly species are in decline
· Two-thirds of our moths are in long term decline
· 71% of our butterflies are also in decline In the London area loss of natural and semi-natural habitat to urban and suburban development over many years has caused negative impacts on biodiversity and has reduced the availability of food, shelter and nest sites for pollinators.
However, studies indicate that provision of forage in the form of flower-rich habitats, such as meadows, within the landscape can help maintain pollinator diversity. Trees, scrub and hedges also play an important role in supporting pollinators and provide shelter and nest sites. Conserving our remaining flower rich habitats also brings other benefits including protecting threatened plant populations and the wildlife that depends on such habitats.
TOGETHER WE CAN:
- Promote, conserve and enhance habitats and species
- Seek biodiversity enhancements which contribute to these targets in the landscaping of all new developments
- Install bat boxes and nest/habitat boxes for birds and bumblebees.
- Plant nectar-rich flora to provide food for bumblebees and other insects
-Plant flowering shrubs, annuals and perennials in gardens to provide a year-round nectar source for bees and other insects
Peregrine Falcon
Animation by Zen Quek,
From the London College of Communication, @briefmecollective @huedrop.collective
The Peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus is the largest resident falcon in the UK, it is traditionally associated with rugged mountains and steep sea cliffs. This versatile raptor has recently begun to colonise urban environments, including London, where it is using tall buildings and other structures as substitutes for the traditional crags and cliff-ledges nesting sites. Urban areas also provide a plentiful supply of prey species, pigeons and other medium sized birds ranging from starlings to black-headed gulls are all predated by the Peregrine. Peregrines are a success story as they are regularly seen hunting over London. They have been sighted roosting on the Tate modern chimney for a number years and utilise other tall buildings in Southwark. In the UK the Peregrine falcon is afforded full protection as a Schedule 1 breeding species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. It is also listed as a Red Data Book species and is on Appendix II of the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, 1979.
(Information from the Southwark Nature in Action Plan 2020).
Team London Bridge would like to thank the Brief Me Collective for their collaboration on the Rewilding Project; Team members include;
London College of communication team;