Biodiversity hacks for the beginners

BIODIVERSITY is a buzzword we hear about more and more. In layman’s terms, it is quite simply about nature. And here at Ballyduff Tidy Towns, we’ve changed how we look after our village somewhat – to try to help the environment to flourish.

1) Choose pollinator flowers: If you love flowers, opt for pollinators instead of the traditional summer blooms. If you find having all pollinators too wild-looking, try mixing and matching. Some of the many pollinator flowers include Lavender; Borage; Daisy; Poppies; Marigold; Sunflower; Buddleia and Dahlia. Herbs generally are excellent pollinators and provide food for bees in many months of the year.

2) Mow less: Give wildlife a chance by mowing less. If you’re hooked on mowing regularly, could you leave a few corners long instead? Or a patch dedicated for wildlife that is fenced off and stays long. The bees love daisies and dandelions. Some people put up a green heart on a sign to let people know they are deliberately leaving an area to grow wild – and aren’t just being lazy!

3) Love the weeds: Weeds are only plants growing somewhere you don’t want them. One day I was weeding my vegetable garden only to see the bees feeding on the lovely purple flowers I was weeding. I felt bad for them so instead of disposing of those bee-feeding flowers; I relocated them to a place

I’m happy to leave wild.

Unfortunately, the likes of Roundup still hasn’t been banned, and people continue to use it. Many don’t realise the harm this does to nature. If you can’t stand the sight of the weeds; dig them out or cut them back instead.

4) Harvest the rain: One thing we have in abundance in Ireland is rain. But the dry spell lately reminded us gardening folk just how important it is – or would have been – to harvest more rain when it was sploshing around by the bucket load. By linking up the eave shoots of your house to a large barrel or rain harvester, you can smugly water your garden even during the hosepipe ban.

5) Pull together a pond: You can have a pond in your garden as small as a biscuit tin, and you will attract nature and create a wonderful habitat for aquatic life. Dig a hole to place your container into and add a few stones so that any little creatures can climb out. Then fill with water. You can add pond plants if you like, but nature will take care of things anyway. It’s best not to add fish if you want your pond to become a natural habitat and for it to clean itself. Watch how the ecosystem develops.

6) Get close to your compost: Compost makes for healthy plants and veggies. If you’re worried about rats, get a compost bin or barrel that is closed at the bottom. Keep it near to the house instead of way down the bottom of the garden to be forgotten about. Stir your compost. There are actual compost stirrers you can buy if you have a large one.

Have a good mix of ‘green’ and ‘brown’ materials for the healthiest compost. Greens are rich in nitrogen and include your fruit and veg peelings, fresh grass cuttings; teabags (I like to empty the tea out of mine to keep it plastic-free); coffee grounds. Browns are rich in carbon and include autumn leaves; eggshells, paper and cardboard; hay and straw; sawdust.

7) Step it up a level: If you are interested in learning more about Biodiversity, Transition Kerry’s fantastic Biodiversity Leadership Course is being run in various locations across Kerry.

IF YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT RATS, GET A COMPOST BIN THAT IS CLOSED AT THE BOTTOM.

Ballyduff Tidy Towns are here to offer you some Biodiversity tips.