Helping wildlife during a drought

Discover how communities can work together to help wildlife cope with drought and extreme dry weather...

Worcestershire has a lot of areas designated for wildlife, from various nature reserves and Local Wildlife Sites to the Malvern Hills National Landscape and the Wyre Forest National Nature Reserve. So, in many ways, the county is doing well to protect nature.

That said, the recent weather has put an awful lot of pressure on wildlife to find food, water and shelter. Flowers and ponds are drying up, grasses are scorched and burned and the landscape generally seems more like a savannah than a playing field in Bromsgrove.

Landowners can take steps to mitigate the effects of dry weather on a landscape scale, such as maintaining shade and tree cover, an communities can do their bit too. Pockets of land that people can influence - whether it’s a pocket park, community garden, small Community Interest Company or local business - can all play a part in helping wildlife move across the landscape. By working together and taking action as groups, we can help reduce the impacts of drought for wildlife.

Community spaces are often cared for by passionate people who have had to work hard, put in their own time to acquire the space or have agreements with landowners to manage them. So, we understand that you’re already doing a lot for local people and wildlife. If you have some involvement in a communal piece of land where you have permission to change it in some way, here are some things you can do that will have a massive impact on your local wildlife.

Things to do right now

Put water out. Use shallow containers with a few pebbles or logs in so that birds, bees, other insects and mammals, such as hedgehogs, can drink. This is vital, as most animals are travelling long distances for food and shelter and will need to stop regularly for water and rest. The water can also create a micro-climate for small insects that seems cooler than dry areas.

Put in a log pile and have a scruffy patch. This will help all sorts of creatures, including beetles and worms, as soil that is in the shade is softer. If there is wood and other organic matter rotting, this creates damp and moisture that will help lots of different creatures.

Install a water butt. If you haven’t already, install a water butt so that when it does rain you can harvest the water. These can be installed in community gardens, community centres, community buildings and churches – just make sure you get permission first.

Make a hedgehog highway. Hedgehogs are under a lot of pressure from land use change and heat makes life even worse. Their food source, mainly beetles and similar insects, becomes very scarce. A small gap in your garden fence or wall, created with your neighbours, can help hedgehogs move more freely across the landscape and give them more options for finding food (importantly, too, this helps to keep them off our roads and out of the danger of cars).

Install or build a hedgehog house. These wooden structures provide somewhere for hedgehogs to stay cool and safe from predators. You can also leave hedgehog food in the houses for them – cat food will also work.

Things to do in autumn and winter

Plant pollinator-friendly, drought-resistant plants, such as herbs including lavender, thyme, hyssop and rosemary. These will help your garden smell great and provide a good source of nectar when other plants have dried up.

Create a pond if space allows. This can help aquatic wildlife and everything else from insects to birds. Even if the pond dries up in summer, the soil underneath will be damper than regular grassland soil and some wildlife can burrow into it, such as newts and diving beetles.

Plant trees if you can. If you have permission to plant trees in open areas, do so with the future in mind. The shade they provide will help protect local spaces from extreme heat.

Things to do in spring

If you have any influence over a community space, allow an area of grassland to stay unmown throughout spring and summer. Taller grass will provide cover, shade and shelter for a whole host of species such as beetles, spiders and grasshoppers, which can then provide food for birds.

Plant areas with soft borders and softer soil so that wildlife can burrow into it. If you have planters in community gardens, this is great, as the soil in them is often softer and will be appreciated by lots of different insects.

You could also build a bee home for solitary bees. Many bees are furry and feel the heat more than other insects, so in hot conditions they aren’t able to fly as far. Having more bee homes around means they have a shorter distance to travel to find pollen and nectar-rich plants.

Things to always do

As communities and individuals, consider water consumption. Extreme drought like we have seen can mean hosepipe bans, which then affects our ability to water plants. The water we use is not infinite and we can all play a vital role in conserving water so that it can be used more effectively in extreme conditions such as these.

Part of Worcester Community Garden - raised beds with a variety of flowers and green vegetation

The real power of communities acting for nature is that you know your local open spaces better than anyone else, and you will know what opportunities you have locally to help wildlife in extreme conditions. You will also have your networks and, often, doing good requires the support of others. Knowing who can do what is a great local strength.

Wildlife exists in communities just like we do. The relationships between different species and what they depend on can be quite intricate but solutions do exist to ease the effects of extreme dry weather – and these solutions are made easier when we come together.