Habitats

What is a wetland?

February 1, 2025 by Admin

Written by Eve Goddard, Transforming Lives Trainee

A wetland is an area of land that is either permanently or seasonally covered by water. They are areas where water and land meet, can be as small as a puddle or as large as an ocean and can be natural or man-made. They form when water can’t drain away from an area.

They include marshes, fens, bogs, wet grasslands, wet woodlands, rivers and ponds.

Wetlands, when healthy, are one of the most biodiversity-rich environments in the UK and home to many species of bird, invertebrate, mammal, reptile and amphibian.

The juxtaposition of land and the water is integral to the lives of these species, and so from a conservation point of view, both elements need protecting from human disturbance and destruction. The UK has lost nine-tenths of its wetlands in the past 100 years; much of it has been drained for construction or agricultural use.

Wetlands are also vital for humans, they play a key role in limiting the amount of carbon in our atmosphere and research is beginning to show the impact of blue spaces on our mental health and wellbeing.

What can you do to support our wetlands?

By building a pond in your garden. No matter how small, you are creating an important addition, a stepping stone in a wider wildlife corridor. Water beetles will fly from pond to pond, mammals and birds will drink and hunt, tiny mosquito larvae will eventually take flight and provide food for bats. If you are lucky enough amphibians will breed!

You can find guides on building different types of ponds here.

Ponds in winter

February 1, 2025 by Admin

Written by Paul Arestides, Transforming Lives Trainee

At this time of year, especially January and February, our weather can turn cold with ice, frost and snow. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on our garden wildlife ponds and implement these handy tips below when needed.

Amphibians like frogs, toads and newts tend to brumate on land during the colder weather, so its always a good idea to have spaces of the garden left untouched. Compost heaps, log piles or rocky places are good for them to settle down and help protect them from frost.

If you have a pond, or plan to build one, make it deep enough so it will not freeze completely (at least 60cm for amphibians) frogs may overwinter in the deeper areas, so this will give them the best chance to survive. Invertebrates like beetles, water boatmen and dragonfly larvae will dive to the bottom of the pond and stay dormant in deeper water.

Contrary to popular belief, melting a hole in the ice will not help the amount of oxygen diffusing into the water- although it can help amphibians like newts that need a hole to come up to the surface to breathe. Oxygen can be produced simply by having oxygenating plants growing in the pond. If there is heavy snow, remove this from the surface ice with a brush to allow sunlight into the water- allowing the plants to continue photosynthesising and creating oxygen.

Do not break the ice as this can send out shock waves that can kill overwintering creatures. Tipping warm/boiling water into your pond isn’t a good idea either as this can trigger animals to come out of their brumation state earlier than planned.

For further tips, take a look at our Winter Wild Gardening Campaign page.

Heaths – an ancient and unique habitat

January 1, 2025 by Admin

Written by Charles Bonnett, Transforming Lives Trainee

What Is Heathland?

Heathland is one of our most distinctive and valuable ecosystems. Found mainly in areas with nutrient-poor, sandy soils, heathlands are most commonly associated with upland and lowland regions, creating a mosaic of habitats vital for biodiversity. Historically, heathlands developed through human activity stemming back to the Neolithic period, particularly as a result of deforestation and grazing, which established and maintained their open, shrubby character.

In the UK, heathlands are divided into two main types: lowland and upland heath. Lowland heath occurs at altitudes below 300 meters and is primarily found in southern and eastern England, including Dorset, Surrey, and Hampshire. Upland heath, on the other hand, is found in Scotland, northern England, and Wales, often merging with moorland.

Ecology

Heathlands are home to a wide array of flora and fauna, many of which are rare or threatened. For example, they provide essential habitats for ground-nesting birds like the nightjar and the Dartford warbler. And, of course, our reptiles such as the sand lizard and smooth snake rely on this habitat, benefiting from the warm, open conditions. The vegetation of heathland is often characterised by low-growing shrubs such as heather, gorse, and other acid-tolerant plants.

Threats and Conservation

Despite their ecological significance, heathlands are among the most threatened habitats in the UK, with only 20% of the historic lowland heathland area remaining. Urbanisation, agricultural intensification, afforestation, and abandonment of traditional management practices have contributed to their decline.

However, fantastic conservation efforts continue, employing techniques such as controlled burning, grazing, and turf stripping to maintain the open character of heathlands and prevent succession to woodland.

Recreational Value

As well as their ecological importance, heaths hold beneficial recreational value. Often positioned close to urban areas, heathlands are popular destinations for walking, birdwatching, and other outdoor activities, connecting people with nature.

Overall, heathlands are a crucial component of the UK landscape, with significant historical, ecological, and recreational value, and so the ongoing conservation work to maintain these habitats will continue to be of significant importance, now and into the future.

Find out more about how we are working to restore heathlands for our species here.

National Allotments Week

August 1, 2024 by Admin

Written by Paul Arestides, Transforming Lives Trainee.

It’s National Allotments Week which will run from 12th-18th August 2024. The week marks the 22nd year of celebrating allotments through The National Allotment Society‘s annual awareness campaign.

As part of this, they will be celebrating and educating on pollinators, wildlife, eco-friendly pest control, companion planting, soil health and much more.

This years theme will be ‘Celebrating Biodiversity on UK allotments’. There is no better way to embrace this than creating a pond for you and all the people on the allotments to enjoy. Why not create a community pond inviting people to join in? There is loads of advice in our Just Add Water booklet.

Creating a pond on an allotment is becoming more popular. The UK has lost so many ponds to development and intensive farming that these small havens can only be beneficial. Toads, frogs, and newts will readily take up residency and are very helpful for anyone growing fruit and veg, feeding on invertebrates, slugs and many more creatures that can be a challenge for gardeners to cope with.

A healthy population of amphibians in your garden will help you control these pest species without the use of chemicals, so it’s a positive for everyone!

You can visit our website to find out more about wildlife-friendly features for your allotment and all the benefits they can bring.

Hampton Nature Reserve

July 1, 2024 by Admin

Written by Paul Arestides, Transforming Lives Trainee

As a charity, our aim is to manage our reserves for reptiles and amphibians, this has been very successful, even if I do say so myself! The fact we have the largest number of great crested newts in Europe (globally according to Reserve Warden, Clare and staff member Darren) along with, grass snakes, common lizards and smooth newts on our Hampton reserve is testament to that.

But as a trainee on the Transforming Lives project (funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund), I have also witnessed some amazing wildlife across all our reserves, especially at Hampton. As a keen birder I became very wobbly at the knees on our recent Froglife away day, not only did we have a hobby performing acrobatic flight across the reserve, but was also joined by two peregrines, yes two! It was a breathtaking moment to witness such majesty in the sky over the reserve.

Hampton is also home to many dragonflies, damselflies, moths, butterflies, insects and fauna. I’ve had the privilege of seeing burnet companion, small heath, dingy skipper, four spotted chaser, azure damselfly, green tiger beetle, orchids and many other fascinating wildlife. It’s been an incredible feeling to be a small part of helping to continue the amazing success of this truly unique nature reserve and look forward to seeing the changing landscape over the next few months.

Hampton Nature Reserve is a private site, but there are regular volunteer days where you can help us with site maintenance and species surveys. Contact our Reserve Warden at: clare.middleton@froglife.org for further information or click here.

Essex – The only way is Pond!!

June 1, 2024 by Admin

Having recently been appointed as a Habitat Delivery Body by Natural England, Froglife Ecological Services (F.E.S) has been busy creating and restoring ponds across the county of Essex as part of the District Level Licencing scheme.

District level licensing aims to increase the number of great crested newts by providing new or better habitats in targeted areas to benefit their wider population. F.E.S has successfully created and restored 36 ponds for great crested newts over the last few months in strategically chosen locations to enable populations to flourish and will be returning to these ponds to check their progress over the coming years.

If you are a landowner in Essex and are interested in finding out about the scheme and the potential for the creation and/or the restoration of ponds then please contact James McAdie via email here.

Habitats

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