I've been charged with finding out more about what we're all up to in this important area so please help!
With Natural England’s report ‘Lost Life: ‘England’s Lost and Threatened Species’ just out last week, it seems like a good time to find out more about what AECB members are doing to benefit wildlife in their own designs, developments and projects. Natural England’s report describes how habitat loss, inappropriate management, environmental pollution and pressure from non-native species have all played a part in the erosion of the UK's biodiversity.
So much can be done to benefit biodiversity in terms of how we design and build and every little helps. Did you see, for example, the feature in Green Building magazine recently about incorporating swift boxes into the re-development of the Windmill estate in South Cambridgeshire. Residents wanted to do as much as possible to ensure they continued to see swifts in their skies and ensured that the accommodation needs of the swift were not overlooked either! Wildlife friendly design can cover a lot of ground from green roofs and walls to bat and bird boxes. Code for Sustainable Homes category 9 acknowledges the importance of the ecological value of a site and awards credits in terms of:
• Ecological enhancement
• Protection of ecological features
• Change in ecological value of site
• Building footprint
How are AECB Members working with CSH cat 9 requirements? Perhaps you’re going further than CSH cat 9 requirements? What about the underreported issue of installing wildlife friendly features in refurbs, are AECB members doing much of this sort of installation? How about the building surrounds and garden? How much does cost influence your choices? What species have benefitted? Once we know the answers to these questions and what AECB Members are doing in this important area, we can consider the case for developing and including a wildlife-friendly approach within our own standards so please let me know what you’re up to!
My own modest example is taking up the 30’s crazy paving in our front garden (2 tons of it) and planting it with meadow seed and wildlife friendly plants. Invertebrates and birds colonized very quickly and whilst it may have added 0.000001 percent to London Borough of Wandsworth’s biodiversity (and 100 percent to a sore back the next day) every little helps.
Look forward to reading your posts. Adam
( AECB Business Development Manager )
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