Biodiversity

‘Biodiversity’ is the variety of life we can see all around us – from fungi to insects, plants and birds.

Biodiversity provides us with everything we need – our food, clothes, medicines, materials for building houses, even the oxygen we breathe! Conserving our local biodiversity is therefore very important to our health and wellbeing.

How you can do your bit for Biodiversity?

In your garden at home:

you would be amazed what wonderful wildlife you can spot in your garden. Record everything you see and submit the records to the Biodiversity Officer
you can benefit wildlife by not cutting grass as short or as frequently to allow lawn plants such as daisies that provide nectar for hoverflies and bees. Bees will also visit buttercups to collect nectar and pollen
plant some wildflower seeds either in planters or a small area in your garden that will be uncut
install some bird boxes for birds before nesting season which is spring and early summer
identify bumblebees using this information sheet

Community groups:

contact our Biodiversity Officer to discuss possible projects for your local community
liaise with our Biodiversity Officer to source potential grant funding for biodiversity projects
identify areas in your local community for wildflowers, hedgerows and trees to be planted

Schools:

assist our Biodiversity Officer with the collection of data on wildlife within your school grounds
create an area within the school grounds for some trees, wildflowers, vegetables beds, bug hotels, hedgehog home
participate in some Biodiversity projects with us e.g. hedgehog talk, bird or mini beast projects
take part in the Forest schools initiative

We partner with Northern Ireland Forest School Association (NIFSA) to introduce the Forest schools initiative within our area. Our parks and open spaces are an important educational and recreational resources. The use of outdoor classrooms and change of venue is a fantastic experience for both children and teachers and has demonstrated to be particularly useful for children who do not normally thrive in the classroom.

By using local green spaces, it is hoped that the value the children place on these green spaces; the sense of ownership and pride, as their Forest School site, ripples out to parents, siblings, friends and throughout the community.

All Forest School activities can be linked directly to the curriculum which allows teachers to ensure continued progress towards academic targets.

More information is available here.

Businesses:

if possible create a wildlife garden within the business grounds. This can connect staff to nature and promote health and wellbeing
consider sponsoring a biodiversity project within your area e.g. wildflower seed packs, interpretation panels to promote biodiversity, goody bags for children involved in biodiversity projects
volunteer staff from your business to assist with biodiversity projects e.g. litter picking in a nearby meadow, tree planting

Farmers:

cut hedges outside of the growing season to ensure that nesting birds are not disturbed and that fruit and seeds are available as a winter food source for wildlife
retain hedgerows as important wildlife corridors rather than replacing with wire fencing
apply herbicides and pesticides in a way that does not affect field margin and hedgerow habitats

Contact details

Biodiversity Officer
Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council
Lagan Valley Island
1 The Island
Lisburn
BT27 4RL

Email: ParksAndAmenitiesAdmin@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk
Phone: 028 9244 7560

Threats to Biodiversity

Many human activities have a negative effect on our biodiversity threatening native woodlands, lowland meadows, peatlands and coastal marine habitats.
This is due to habitat loss and destruction of natural habitats due to new buildings, changing land use practises, invasive alien species and climate change.

One third of our bee species is threatened with extinction from Ireland. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan is about everyone coming together to try to create an Ireland where pollinators can survive and thrive. The latest plan aims to help bees, other pollinating insects and our wider biodiversity through better management of our whole landscape.

Northern Ireland has already lost some species including:

Golden and White-tailed Sea Eagles
Cranes
Corn Bunting
Wild Boar
Lynx
Small Blue Butterfly
Great Yellow Bumblebee

Species under threat include:

Irish Damselfly
Hen Harrier
Barn Owl
Red Squirrel

If you believe you have a non-native invasive species please use this link for further information.

Local Biodiversity Action Plan

Our Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) aims to:

conserve and enhance the rich biodiversity of our area for both current and future generations
educate and raise awareness of the importance and variety of biodiversity found within our area
encourage local ownership/guardianship of biodiversity in our area.

Key highlights of the LBAP are:

Grasslands

We will:

create species-rich lowland neutral grassland while protecting and enhancing existing grasslands
work with farmers to adapt practises to support local biodiversity
create and install features in existing and newly created meadows to benefit invertebrates including bug hotels and beetle banks

Woodlands and hedgerows

We will:

increase woodland cover within our area through the creation of native woodland on our estate, utilising available schemes for woodland restoration and creation
deliver the BIG Tree project
monitor and control invasive non-native species
plant native species-rich hedgerows on selected council sites to act as demonstrations for planting wildlife-friendly hedgerows
provide tree planting packs to school and community groups to encourage tree planting

Wetlands

We will:

protect rivers from pollution using SuDS
create ponds at council sites
promote wetland biodiversity through local events and groups (water sports, anglers)
discourage feeding of waterfowl at public parks with ponds or lakes

Urban areas

We will:

install interpretation panels at our key sites to highlight their biodiversity value
improve the value of urban green spaces for biodiversity by supporting ‘friends of’ groups at selected sites
install bat roosting boxes at suitable locations
install bird nesting boxes at suitable locations
work with local schools to enhance school grounds for biodiversity
provide and enhance allotments to attract birds, insects and pollinators

View the full LBAP here

Useful links

If you would like to find out more about biodiversity, please visit the websites listed below: