Mike Dilger’s wildlife watching
In his series of great places to watch wildlife in the UK, the star of BBC One’s The One Show this month takes a look at post-industrial landscapes and the surprising benefits they hold for a range of species.
How abandoned quarries have become a haven for myriad species
Stone Age people were the first to quarry building stone. They also exploited clays to make pottery and opened mines for flint, starting a long history of extraction activities by humankind. Over the course of the following millennia, right up to present day, our insatiable demand for rock, sand, gravel and other minerals has seen these valuable materials commandeered in ever greater quantities for the construction of everything from buildings to roads. Though it may appear purely destructive, all this digging has created fantastic opportunities for Britain’s wildlife. Two species of bird, the sand martin and little ringed plover, are closely associated with freshly turned-over ground – the former nesting in sandbanks and the latter on open areas of shingle or pebbles. Solitary mining bees, wasps and beetles are among the many other examples. Meanwhile, disused dig sites that have filled with water are home to dragonflies, waterfowl, amphibians and fish. Areas surrounding these pools can be marshy, scrubby or lightly wooded, while nearby slopes, slag heaps and artificial ‘dunes’ are often festooned with wildflowers and buzzing with life.
Our islands have a complex and convoluted geology, so are relatively well endowed with mineral assets. As a result, the UK currently has more than 2,000 active mines and quarries. But the number of abandoned pits and quarries is thought to be far higher.
Formerly considered little more than ugly scars on the landscape, these derelict areas are now known to be wildlife havens. But it wasn’t until the early 1980s that survey work by ecologists began to reveal how the loss of ‘geological assets’ has been compensated for by the arrival of a suite of ‘biological assets’. Much of this colonising wildlife has been seeking refuge from agricultural intensification and rampant urbanisation in the surrounding land.
So, what’s the reason for the remarkable wildlife interest at these brownfield sites? One key factor is the greater variety of
physical features that the extraction process inadvertently brings about. Many pits and quarries contain both steep and flat areas, and provide extremes of wetness and dryness, temperature and soil pH. The creation of unusual or atypical habitats is believed in many cases to have resulted in a greater biodiversity than would have been encountered in the first place.
Add to this the fact that many old workings have been strictly out of bounds to humans, due to health and safety concerns, and the sites’ pulling power among species that prefer a quiet life instantly increases.
Many abandoned pits and quarries have now become incredibly important for nature that’s under threat elsewhere.
When the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust recently carried out a biological survey of all the old mineral workings across the county, at least 200 of the insect species encountered were considered wholly or largely dependent on post-industrial sites. The Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly states that 29 per cent of all ‘County Wildlife Sites’ in the region have at least one old quarry.
It’s not just the flora and fauna that wins when ‘brown’ turns ‘green’. These semi-natural habitats also provide a much-needed place for local communities to enjoy a walk on the wild side, giving a well-documented boost to people’s physical and mental well-being. Conservationists are understandably keen to make up for lost time by converting the richest post-industrial sites into nature reserves. Many also have legal protection as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
But, a word of warning – only head to sites already designated as nature reserves, and stick to the clearly marked trails. Getting a better look at that bird or butterfly isn’t worth the risk of disappearing down an old mine shaft!
Conservationists are keen to make up for lost time by converting the richest post-industrial sites into nature reserves.