HARINGEY - GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE
Wild-up your garden - FREE ADVICE
Wildlife gardens are vital - no matter the size of the space. Be it a postage-stamp-sized front garden; an unloved corner of your back garden; or a green spot nearby*, they can all be made welcoming to a wide variety of species.
More and more gardens are being paved, pebbled or decked. They have become useless to most wildlife. Would you believe, front gardens covering an area roughly 22 times the size of Hyde Park have been paved over in London alone. A surge in sales of decking witnessed over the last five years may also be a factor in the declines of insects and consequently fledgling deaths.
Did you know?
Wildlife gardens often require less work than formal lawns and cultivar flower beds. Most plants are low in
pollen and nectar, and many offer nothing for our pollinators at all.
You can transform the whole of your garden, half or just a corner of it, into valuable wildlife habitat to attract birds;
pollinating insects, (butterflies; moths; hoverflies, etc) and mammals.
Apart from wild flora, you might like to have a small area for herbs, (most have flowers and attract pollinators).
About me
I'm an environmentalist. My areas of experience are: wildlife conservation; wildlife mitigation and habitat creation.
1975 - present - nature photographer
2005 - 2007 - co-founder of Friends of Tottenham Marshes;
2007 to 2013 - co-founder, Secretary and principal educator at Lee Valley Bats (community bat group)
2007 to present - work on street lighting 'mitigation' with Haringey Council, (installing nocturnal wildlife-friendly
lighting, which reduces predation risk, but is generally good for the environment);
2010 to present - Committee member Friends of the Paddock, (a community nature park at
Tottenham Hale, N17). Helped design and oversaw the building of a wildflower meadow
and a wildlife pond. Liaise with, and advise Haringey on the general maintenance of the
Paddock site;
2011 to present - Nature Officer for Ferry Lane Action Group (FLAG, a residents association on
Ferry Lane Estate, N17). Haringey to install and manage wildflower areas.
Local environmentalist at Tottenham Hale, dedicated to enhancing green spaces and mitigating for wildlife;
I liaise with Homes for Haringey, to ensure the needs of habitat and wildlife are met;
Local school talks on planting for wildlife; on pollination; bats and other subjects.
Local bat expert, at Tottenham Hale, and conduct free, public nocturnal public bat walks, (during season);
I work as Ferry Lane Estate’s Nature Officer, (which is the greenest and 5th largest social housing estate in Haringey, containing a rich flora and fauna).
I liaise with Haringey's Parks Department on green space management on FLE, e.g. mowing; tree works; grass cutting regime; habitat creation and enhancement, etc.
HARINGEY/HOMES FOR HARINGEY AWARDS
2010 - Trophy - Joining Up Northumberland Park’
2013 - Diploma - International Women’s Day’
2014 - Trophy - Services to the Community
FREE advice
I'm passionate about wildlife and want you to be too. It's sad to see habitats disappearing before our eyes. You can make your garden inviting, not just for passing wildlife, but for those creatures that would happily stick around, (provided the conditions were just right - food, water, shelter, nesting/roosting places). Some creatures require shade and damp conditions; others need partial sunlight and a warm place to shelter and/or hibernate, while birds and bats, for example, need nesting/roosting boxes, and require correct positioning.
I look forward to helping you, in an advisory capacity, with your garden or public green space.
Best wishes
Jeanette Sitton,
* If you have an unloved park or other public space in mind, please remember to get permission from Haringey Council before making any additions/changes. Also, check with the Council's Planning Department, to ensure the spot isn't earmarked for development.
