Getting down and dirty

River dipping to monitor water quality

Did you know there are otters in the River Brett right here in the middle of Hadleigh? And water voles and water shrews? Or that the EA are planning to build an eel ladder at Toppesfield to help eels migrate. And you can hear nightingales singing on Broom Hill? 

Whether its bees or bats or swifts or otters, wildlife needs a rich and varied environment. Wildflower meadows, old logs rich in insects and fungi, thick banks of bramble and rosebay willow herb – they’re all great for wildlife.

So what can you and I do to make Hadleigh even more friendly to all these animals and plants? If you have a garden, then one of the best ways is to join the Wild East programme and make 20% of your garden into a wild life meadow. You can find put more here).  Add all our gardens up and they’d cover more than all the national parks in Britain.  If we all added some wildness to our gardens that would be an awful lot of wild meadow.

If you’re like me, you’ll love a neat garden with everything blooming to order. But nature isn’t like that. Part of the reason the otters are back is because the river walk is a nature reserve -  the river floods, fallen trees are left to rot and so provide homes for insects which in turn feed the bugs and grubs on which all those voles and nightingales flourish. Brambles scramble everywhere in the summer only to die back in winter. Nature doesn’t come in straight lines and clipped edges, instead it is wonderfully messy – and out of this richness comes the web of life which sustains us all. So next time you’re in your garden or on a walk think about giving a bit back to nature – don’t disturb that overgrown corner, enjoy the changing pattern of the seasons. Keep the planning and the tidiness to where you need it – the veg plot or the beautiful border  - and let a little of Mother Nature back in around the edges.