Rewilding London

From the bullet-points, above:
YES - the greater the diversity, anywhere, the greater the resilience of "natural" systems
Resilience, as mentioned, plus a greater visual diversity - benefitting everyone. AND: The main challenges are corprorate greed & stupidity plus council greed & stupidity.
As many places as reasonably practical
Look to the watercourses & "floodable" areas + "waste" lands
I'm already trying to keep a wildlife-friendly Allotment (!)

Please stop cutting roadside grass to allow for a range of plant and insects species to naturally find and colonise. It's visually much more appealing especially in the spring /summer with a range of flowers finding their way there, and creating diversity and homes for insects. Saves money and benefits the environment. (I saw this happening just today and what looked great is now just a patch of brown grass with no life and our taxes paid for this to happen).

Councils need to stop people putting down plastic grass! It's fatal for insects.. once on it they can't climb out as, unlike real grass, there's nothing for the insects' legs to hook on to! And they die! Plastic grass is totally antisocial. I get that people don't like mowing, well, don't mow, or mow just a strip for access. Or plant a chamomile or thyme lawn.

Councils should provide incentives for people to tear up their concreted front drive and replace with a front garden or at least a permeable surface. More area for water to drain off, less flooding, more front garden planting area for wildlife

We need more parks, new ones, better designed for wildlife and providing green areas for more people. A lot of people do not have nearby green spaces, too many.

Forget trying to exterminate non native species like the grey squirrel and Parakeet, these are examples where human interference has backfired but it is now too late. I prefer grey squirrels to no squirrels, bright green birds to no birds, but we should help to re-establish the sparrow, the stag beetle, the cockchafer and the cinnabar moth by encouraging the growth of native weeds and allowing grass to grow in our open spaces. We need to encourage the planting of native trees and shrubs rather than ornamental foreign species that look pretty but support no native insects. Provide the right conditions for our native insects and everything else will be helped.

When I was young London was full of interesting wildlife, bombed sites existed locally with ragwort, rosebay willow herb and elder growing in profusion. Caterpillars, moths and butterflies were everywhere and birds chirruped and nested in the eaves, gardens and chimney pots. I was then sent away to live in a children's home in Banstead on the outskirts of London where I loved to wander over the chalk downland, enjoying the species that lived there. When I went back to live in London, all the old houses bombed sites and untidy places were being destroyed torn down and concreted over and the wildlife was exterminated. When I went back to Banstead the children's home had been destroyed along with most of the wild areas around it. The downland had been neglected and was now an impenetrable jungle of self-seeded scrub dotted with litter. All the chalk grassland species had died out. No one seemed to be concerned until very recently when the alarm has been raised over this issue. This is weird. What went wrong was that local people were not listened to when they objected, and that nature and old buildings were not valued and that no one considered or consulted with the wildlife, birds and insects that were being evicted. Money and private profit was valued above the environment and only the convenience of investors and entrepreneurs counted in the planning system to the exclusion of everything else. Nature had no voice so was ignored.

Time in nature has been shown to deliver major health benefits. And be fun. Therefore, Rewilding, as well as being good for nature, delivers health benefits.
1. First of all we should capture the benefits of all those areas of London that have naturally rewilded by giving them protected status as wildlife sites
2. We should look at adding connectivity between corridors such as canals, railway embankments etc by strategic land acquisitions
3. Get major landowners to commit to Rewilding 30% of their land
4. Introduce grazing animals to designated large wild areas of the major parks (eg longhorn cattle which are ok with people and dogs)
5. Each rewilding initiative must be supported by a local community group, local business and school to ensure buy-in
6. Change planning rules to ensure all new developments maximises Rewilding potential

Water - access to potable water for insects, birds, small mammals and not forgetting people. There is nothing more welcoming to a warm and weary traveller (of any species - I mean shoppers, their dogs and children and grannies, bees, birds and butterflies). A place to sit or lean would also help.
Creative sculptures made from sustainable materials with water.
Drinking fountains with shallow bowls on tops for birds and insects & at the bottom for dogs, cats, foxes as well as a push-tap for people. Better put a bin nearby too as people often chuck rubbish anywhere if there is no bin.
Small ponds with shallow edges, with scrub and cover very nearby.
Pretty up canals and add access points for wildlife.
Many other ideas . . .

It would also be great to make people more aware of what they can do within their own homes and gardens too. Garden Centres promoting native plants and flowers (it’s almost impossible to buy them). Fence panels having a hedgehog 🦔 hole by default when you buy them. Planting bee and butterfly friendly flowers etc.

London has huge potential to rewild- or at least improve biodiversity-
Let’s start by making all new developments wildlife friendly- natural hedges, wildflower beds. Also let’s work on encouraging people not to concrete over their driveways or front gardens.

The question, were you anxious yesterday. On June 21 I had an appointment at a Central London hospital. I was extremely anxious as I didn't know how or if I would get there because of the rail strikes. I eventually got there by 3 buses and the journey took three and a half hours

I recently had to go to a work event in Brighton. I was saddened to see the amount of roadkill along some stretches of the motorway, foxes, squirrels and even birds. I imagine this happens quite often and it's very sad to see.
Our motorways desperately need wildlife rest stops and land bridges. We share the planet with animals and have encroached on their spaces. Its time we took their lives into account as we get on with ours. It shouldn't be us or them, it should be both.

As a city kid from countryside parents, I was brought up with values very linked to nature and wildlife. I was privileged to spend all my weekends and holidays surrounded by nature and I noticed through the years the rapid deterioration of spaces I used to enjoy as a kid. I am very concerned about losing species like the red squirrel (opposed to its grey non-native rival) or many types of birds (these days all I see and hear are those green parakeets). I think the Greater London area due to its size, climate and topography, has a great potential for expanding and maintaining its biodiversity and I believe rewilding could be a key part in achieving this.

You can't expand ancient woodlands; the new bits are not ancient. The mayor loves wasting money that is not his on projects that he thinks improve his image. That is extremely selfish. Re-wilding can best be done by individuals being sensible in helping wild birds and animals in their immediate neighbourhoods; not by wasting time money and effort on municipal projects.