As urbanisation continues to rise, the importance of wildlife corridors in maintaining biodiversity cannot be overstated. These corridors link fragmented habitats, allowing animals and insects to move safely between areas, thus ensuring genetic diversity and ecosystem health.
Whether you’re a landscape architect designing public spaces or a home gardener with a modest plot, this comprehensive guide will provide you with practical steps on how to create an effective wildlife corridor.
How’s that for a wildlife corridor! https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/medicinal-honey-plants-sage-rosemary-lavender-1933656596
Assess Your Space
Begin by evaluating the space available. For larger public spaces, identify existing green patches that can be connected. In smaller gardens, consider how your plot links with neighbouring gardens, parks, or natural areas. What resources are already abundant for the ecology, and what organisms are present? What is missing in your local area?
Understanding your starting point is crucial for planning a functional corridor.
Plant Suitable Varieties
Start by understanding the unique growing conditions of the space, which will limit your available plant palette. This includes soil type, sunlight, climate, micro climate, and so forth.
Then, consider the functions you’d like to gain from each plant; are you after seasonal flowering, fruits, seeds, diverse habitat, ornamental value, cultural value, shade, edible crops, or something else?
Try to gain at least 5 functions from each plant.
Endemics, Natives and Exotics
There’s a current trend toward locally endemic species, and this is something to be embraced however you should understand there’s a cost-benefit analysis to be made here. Often, cultivars (including natives and exotics) can live longer and flower more prolifically than seed-grown endemics, meaning that cultivars are often better suited for supporting ecology.
If you were an insect, would you care whether a flower was native, or would you just make use of the resources available? Most insects are far less fussy eaters than some humans. Quick Fence™ Viburnum odoratissimum‘VOQ1’ PBR Intended. https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/hardy-exotic-range/quick-fence/
Endemics are usually the best option for natural resource management settings outside of urban areas where the environment and ecology has been drastically changed, however if you have the budget to look after them and replace them when they die, they can be a beneficial part of your plant palette.
Consider the 80-20 rule: use 80% plants you know and trust with good genetics, and experiment with 20% of plants that you understand are a little bit more fussy.
Remember that most of our native fauna doesn’t mind whether they’re feeding upon a native or exotic plant, as long as they can get what they need, whether that’s nectar, pollen, fruits, seeds, vegetation or something else.
There are many examples of co-dependant relationships between specific insects or animals and plants, and it’s well worth understanding a few of these relationships so that you can plant the exact right plant to support fauna (especially insects) that are more fussy with their food and habitat. This can complicate things a lot, so if you’re still learning about ecology, consider focusing mainly on plants that can support generalist pollinators like daisy family members, myrtle family members, protea family members, mint family members, brassica family members, and so forth.
Create Layers of Vegetation
Mimic natural habitats by creating layers of vegetation:
- Canopy Trees: Large trees that provide shade and nesting sites.
- Vertical Climbers: Vines and creepers can climb trees and structures to provide habitat and food sources.
- Understorey Shrubs: Smaller trees and shrubs underneath the canopy.
- Herbaceous Layer: Wildflowers and grasses.
- Ground Cover: Leaf litter, mulch, or low-growing plants.
- A good climber can provide both screening and biodiversity support. Allow it to climb trees, fences or trellises and let nature do its thing. Ozbreed Flat White™ Pandorea jasminoides‘PJ01’ PBR. https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/native-shrubs-groundcovers/ozbreed-flat-white/
Diverse Microhabitats
Create a range of microhabitats to cater to the needs of different species. This can include rock piles, leaf litter, bare ground patches for ground-nesting bees, and varied moisture levels (wet and dry zones).
Provide Water Sources
Incorporate water features like bird baths, ponds, or even simple water dishes. These attract birds, amphibians, and insects, providing necessary hydration and a habitat for breeding. Sustainable water management practices such as rain gardens, swales, or green roofs can also be integrated.
Simple water sources like bird baths are great, however they should be emptied and re-filled regularly to prevent mosquito larvae. A more sustainable option is a water ecosystem with aquatic plants and animals like fish and crustaceans which can feed upon mosquito larvae.
Plants like lomandra can block cane toads from accessing your water source, as they can’t climb over the thick vegetation, especially when densely planted. However, our native frogs can climb over them with ease.
A cascading water feature keeps the water fresher than still water, and provides a resource for boidiversity. https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cascading-garden-water-feature-703756834
Build Shelter and Nesting Sites
Install bird boxes, bat boxes, possum houses, and insect hotels. Dead wood piles and log stacks offer shelter for insects and small mammals. Ensure these are placed in safe, quiet areas away from disturbances. Creating diverse microhabitats can cater to different species’ needs.
Understand that most of these won’t last forever and should be replaced every couple of decades. On the other hand, tree hollows of various sizes and standing dead wood can provide a more natural and sustainable source of habitat. This is what man-made shelters are trying to replicate.
Use Permeable Boundaries
Replace solid fences with hedges, trellises, or gaps that allow insects and animals to pass through. This is particularly important in urban settings where solid barriers often fragment habitats. Minimising light pollution by using motion-sensor lighting or low-intensity lights can also reduce disruption for nocturnal animals.
Avoid Chemicals
Minimise or eliminate the use of pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilisers. These substances can harm wildlife and disrupt food chains. Opt for organic or natural alternatives to maintain a healthy, thriving environment.
An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach favours genetic, physical, cultural, biological and regulatory controls with chemical controls being used as a last resort. Sometimes, you’re better off replacing a plant rather than regularly nuking it to control pests that keep returning. Or, embrace the pests as a food source for biodiversity.
Maintain Connectivity
Regularly check and maintain the corridor to ensure it remains a viable pathway. Remove invasive species, prune overgrown plants, and replenish any areas that have become degraded. Creating buffer zones around sensitive areas within the corridor can protect them from human activity and domestic pets.
Seasonal Planting
Ensure that your planting plan accounts for seasonal variations. This will provide continuous food sources and habitat throughout the year, such as berry-producing shrubs for winter, spring-flowering plants for early pollinators, and summer-blooming flowers for mid-year nectar.
Autumn and winter can be the hardest months to source flowering plants for. Correas and grevilleas are two plants that can tie your garden over through the winter with blooms, and help support pollinators in late winter/early spring as they build their numbers up for the growing season. Having those early resources in the season helps to boost numbers for the whole year, but make sure you’ve got abundant spring-flowering plants like callistemon, and summer-flowering plants like lilly pillies.
Some plants like many grevilleas and scaevola will flower sporadically for most of the year.
Soil Health
Healthy soil is the foundation of any thriving ecosystem. Conduct soil tests and amend soil as needed to improve its structure and fertility. Composting organic waste can enrich the soil and support plant health.
A good soil can hold moisture while being able to drain it. Sandy soils may become hydrophobic, and benefit long-term from the incorporation of kaolin clay or hydro crystals. Meanwhile, heavy clays can benefit from gypsum to break them apart. Organic matter is generally beneficial for all soil types, and the more the better (except in special circumstances, but suffice to say a good general rule is more compost = better).
Climate Change Adaptation
Consider the impacts of climate change on local ecosystems. Choose plants that are resilient to changing conditions and plan for potential shifts in species ranges.
Food Chains and Ecosystem Dynamics
Understand and promote the natural food chains within your corridor. Encourage predator species that keep pest populations in check, supporting a balanced ecosystem. This will automatically happen when you follow the guidelines of this article.
Monitor and Adapt
Observe the corridor’s impact on local wildlife. Use wildlife cameras or simply take notes on sightings. Sticky traps are a good way to monitor insect numbers however they do kill the very insects, amphibians and reptiles you’re trying to help. It can be heartbreaking to see frogs and geckos trying to escape a sticky trap, because the only way out is to rip the skin off and that will likely cause them to die anyway.
Adapt your strategies based on what you observe, ensuring the corridor remains beneficial and resilient. Collaborating with local universities, conservation organisations, and wildlife trusts for ongoing research can provide valuable data and insights.
Community Involvement
Engage with neighbours and local communities. Shared efforts can vastly improve the effectiveness of wildlife corridors. Encourage others to adopt similar practices, creating a network of interconnected green spaces. For public spaces, consider installing educational signage to inform visitors about the importance of wildlife corridors.
Understand that biodiversity corridors and pathways may be broken, and that’s okay. Birds and insects are able to fly over multiple boundaries and dead zones between bountiful habitat gardens.
Educational Signage
For public spaces, consider installing educational signage to inform visitors about the importance of wildlife corridors and how they can contribute to urban biodiversity. This helps raise awareness and support for such initiatives.
Citizen Science Initiatives
Encourage participation in citizen science projects. These initiatives allow community members to contribute to biodiversity monitoring and data collection, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility toward local wildlife.
Conflict Mitigation
Plan for potential human-wildlife conflicts, especially in urban areas. Educate the community on how to coexist with wildlife and implement measures to prevent issues such as garden damage or encounters with larger animals.
Consider that some spaces are better without wildlife visitation, such as near highways and airports where they can cause accidents. Also, birds perching and feeding near your outdoor eating area are likely to poo all over your table, so consider that as well.
Cultural and Aesthetic Considerations
Blend the wildlife corridor design with cultural and aesthetic elements. Use native plants that hold cultural significance and create visually appealing landscapes that resonate with the local community. And make your garden look pretty; just because you’re supporting biodiversity, doesn’t mean it needs to look like nobody cares for the space. This can be as simple as coppicing plants every few years so that they remain vigorous with lots of vegetation.
Conclusion
Creating a wildlife corridor in your garden or public space is a rewarding way to support biodiversity. By implementing these practical steps and considering additional strategies, you can contribute to a healthier environment, fostering a rich tapestry of life that benefits both nature and humans alike. A well-designed wildlife corridor not only supports a greater diversity of species but also integrates seamlessly with the surrounding urban environment.
