Ten proposals on making cities nature-friendly from the People’s Manifesto for Wildlife, headed up by naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham
The People’s Manifesto for Wildlife has been produced by a coalition of independent voices, from nature writer Robert Macfarlane to teen conservationist Mya-Rose Craig.
The document includes a set of essays on topics ranging from hedgerows to rewilding, followed by 10 “no-brainer solutions” for each about how to boost wildlife and conservation in the UK today.
Below are the manifesto’s 10 suggestions for wildlife in urban areas
Planning permission to be required for the paving, decking and fake-turfing of more than 10 per cent of any garden
Image: Sergei Akulich
Hedgehog holes to be made compulsory in all new fencing
Image: Ashleigh Robertson
Swift, sparrow and starling boxes to be compulsory in all new-build homes, with incentives offered for retrofitting nest boxes on older properties
Image: helloimnik
Native shrubs and trees to be mandatory in municipal planting schemes and new-build gardens to increase insect abundance
Image: Krzysztof Niewolny
New incentives for home-composting, such as free compost bins or reduced council tax bills
Image: Maarten van den Heuvel
Significant new public funding to keep parks and urban green spaces open
Image: Mehdi Thomas Boutdarine
Wildlife ponds to be created on every industrial estate and in all municipal parks
Image: Jack Hamilton
All public green spaces and parks to have a minimum of 10 per cent given over to wildflower meadows
Image: Mehmet Kursat Deger
All new-build estates to have a communal pond and wildlife friendly communal ‘green spaces’, to be maintained by the development or management company
Image: Leo Rivas
Areas earmarked for future development to be used as temporary ‘pop-up’ habitats typically sown with quick- growing annual flower mixes to provide food for pollinators
Image: Stella de Smit
Featured image: Vincent van Zalinge
Urban nature proposals taken from www.chrispackham.co.uk/a-peoples-manifesto-for-wildlife
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