The value of allotments in their traditional mode are considerable - they provide the opportunity for eating healthy, locally-produced food, for healthy exercise and for youngsters to learn that food actually comes from the soil, not a supermarket shelf! More information on the benefits of allotments can be found on the excellent Ealing 'Local Agenda 21' web site.

In recent years, it has been realised that allotments also have considerable value - or at least potential - for wildife. There can, however, be significant conflicts between the use of allotments for food production and wildlife.

Threats

There are a number of threats to wildlife in allotments:

• Lack of understanding of wildlife potential
• Excessive use of herbicides and manual clearing of weeds - which are also wild flowers
• Use of 'metaldehyde' slug pellets which also poison hedgehogs, etc. Ironically, hedgehogs are gardeners' friends as they eat slugs and other animals which threaten crops!
• Too much manicuring and tidiness
• Possible lack of education and therefore good practice in terms of recycling, air and soil pollution from fires, toxic wood preservatives and water preservation
• Lack of resources available for allotment maintenance and improvement (in comparison to other priorities).

Action

The need to protect and enhance the wildlife value of allotments has been recognised in the 'Biodiversity Action Plans' (BAPs) for West London:

• Hounslow BAP (LB of Hounslow web site: PDF file - 1 Mbyte, page 69.) This plan also covers gardens.
• Ealing BAP (LB of Ealing web site - PDF file).
• Hammersmith & Fulham BAP (LB of H&F web site - lower left). This plan also covers gardens.

'Flagship' species

There are a number of wild plants and animals which are characteristic of the allotments that are best for wildlife. A number of these - often the more obvious or 'popular' ones - have been selected as 'flagship species'. For the boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham, they are:

Wood mouse

• house sparrow
• blackbird
• robin
• wren
• song thrush
• goldfinch
• kestrel
• sparrowhawk
• frog
• newt
• hedgehog
• fox
• wood mouse
• slow-worm
• ivy (climbing)

This is similar to the list for gardens, because the garden habitat is often similar.

Other links