Coventry Area
The Coventry area includes reserves at Claybrookes
Marsh, Harvest
Hill, Tocil Wood, Stoke Floods,
Stonebridge Meadows and Wyken Slough.
The last three reserves are within the Sowe Valley and the Sowe Valley
Project.
View Nature Reserves around Coventry in a © Google map
Coventry is fortunate in having many green
spaces distributed across the urban sprawl which provides havens
for wildlife amidst the roads, houses, commercial and industrial
buildings more commonly associated within a city.
However, that is not to say that urban
structures are no good for wildlife! Peregrine Falcons have been
spotted perching on the spire of Holy Trinity church in Coventry
city centre for the past 3 years - the steep sides of the building
providing the same security of the steep cliffs where the birds
would normally choose to roost and which would normally be
characteristic of the sites they choose in more remote
locations.
WWT Chief Executive Steve Trotter was
recently discussing the birds on local radio and a local wildlife
enthusiast has been busy photographing them. Photos of the birds
can be viewed on the Coventry evening telegraph website here:
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/multimedia/news/images/2010/08/11/peregrine-falcons-nest-in-coventry-92746-27041101/
Coventry is recognised as one of the most
wooded cities in England with pockets of ancient woodland found in
many areas across the city. This increasingly rare habitat supports
a range of species including fabulous displays of bluebells and
anemones in the springtime, dappled shade in the summer, striking
colours in autumn and stark outlines in winter. The woodlands are
managed using traditional techniques of rotational coppicing to
provide a wide range of habitats to benefit the greatest number of
species possible and as with all the green spaces across Coventry,
the woodlands are great as refuges in their own right, but if we
are to improve areas for wildlife on a larger scale we need to find
ways to link these havens so they form part of a wider landscape
rather than being isolated refuges.
Gardens cover huge expanses in urban areas
and by making part of your garden a wildlife friendly garden you
can help contribute to creating a Living Landscape across the city.
Turning part of your garden over to a wildlife friendly garden is
not difficult or costly and can actually save you work! There are
loads of things you can plant and do to make your garden better for
wildlife, no matter what size it is and chances are if you have a
garden you may be doing some of these already. Some
suggestions and ideas for how you can make your garden better for
wildlife can be found here
Volunteers across Coventry have been busy
battling Himalayan balsam for the past few months along
watercourses through the city, dedicating hours of their energy and
time pulling and cutting to help control the spread of this highly
invasive non native plant. The Coventry Water Vole
Project has been 'balsam bashing' for the past 4 years and
whilst at times for those involved it may seem a thankless task,
the hard work is paying off and at some sites real differences can
now be seen with a greater number of native species returning,
providing much improved habitat and food plants for water
voles.
Real improvements for wildlife can also be
seen along the Sowe valley river corridor now that the Sowe Valley
Project is coming to the end of its second year. Over the past
2 years communities along the length of the river have been
involved with improving their local stretches which has recently
seen copious amounts of balsam removed from the bank side, along
with the planting of native species. Now that we move into autumn
the focus of the work will shift to tasks such as rubbish removal
and controlling bank side vegetation to help protect and enhance
the habitats for the wildlife for whom the river is home. A big
thank you to everyone who has helped out on the project so far - if
you would like to get involved or to find out more follow the link
above.