Helping Wildlife Prepare For Winter....

Helping Wildlife Prepare For Winter…… 

Supporting wildlife and nature involves thinking about all the stages in the life cycle of the plants and animals we wish to help. As part of YCV’s management of the Community Orchard and other areas around Yaxley we try to provide a variety of habitats. This includes places to find food, water, shelter and nest sites. Flowers for butterflies and bees, nest boxes for birds and ponds for frogs to breed in are all examples. We also need to think about what wildlife needs in each season.

We see some wildlife fly south for winter but it is often forgotten that much of our wildlife goes into hibernation. Their survival depends on finding somewhere suitable to over- winter. For example – there are twelve different species of Ladybirds native to Britain and each needs slightly different conditions to get through to spring with many seeking to hibernate in the hollow stems of plants. It has been a good year for Ladybirds but for them to survive long term they need shelter in winter. Those moths and butterflies that come out in spring provide the caterpillars to feed garden birds when they are raising their young.

In the Community Orchard we have installed bug hotels, leave areas of vegetation uncut, have piles of leaves and hay and have some sheets of corrugated metal on the ground – different animals need different types of places to hibernate so we try to provide that variety. As another example you will also see sections of the wild flower patch behind the Pavilion in the Recreation Ground are left uncut to allow for insects to hibernate in them.

We can all do similar things in our own garden as we get them ready for winter – leave an out of the way corner as uncut vegetation during the winter -this can be cut later in spring. Pile up some logs, leave a few plant pots on their sides with straw inside, install a bug hotel etc and do what you can to help nature through the coldest months.

If you would like to help us look after the orchard or help us with our projects around the village please do get in touch: 

secretary@ycv.org.uk