Biodiversity Working Group
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth, including animals, plants, fungi and micro-organisms. It is the diversity of living things that makes our natural world healthy, resilient and able to support life. According to the State of Nature 2023 Report, the UK is one of the world's most nature depleted countries, with UK species having declined by an average of 19%.
Martlesham Parish Council's Biodiversity Working Group is committed to increasing the diversity and abundance of nature across our community for the benefit of wildlife, people and the planet.
Our aims
We are working to:
- Create interconnected wildlife corridors throughout the parish, linking local habitats with the wider landscape and neighbouring parishes.
- Care for and connect at least 30% of the parish for nature aligning with national and international biodiversity objectives.
- Actively encourage access to nature, both at home and in within the community.
- Collaborate with local groups, residents and partners.
- Plan and deliver surveys across the Parish to guide targeted, evidence based biodiversity work.
Through this work, we aim to create a resilient, well connected natural environment that supports biodiversity recovery and delivers lasting benefits for current and future generations.
Martlesham Garden Survey
The first phase of our work is gathering information through local surveys, and we are pleased to introduce the Martlesham Garden Survey.
This short questionnaire will help us to understand what features are present in residents' gardens and how they support local wildlife. The results will help us build a clearer picture of how wildlife friendly Martlesham's gardens are and identify opportunities to strengthen nature across the parish.
Small individual actions can come together to make a real difference for biodiversity across the parish. It only takes a few minutes to take part. You can register your garden, discover ways to help local wildlife at home and become part of a community working together to help nature thrive.
*Please note that we are not asking about wildlife present in your garden at this stage however, this is an aspect that we address at a later stage.
Wildlife Friendly Gardening
Creating a wildlife friendly garden does not mean leaving your garden to get messy or not maintaining it. By gardening with wildlife in mind, you can create a space that both you and our local wildlife can feel at home in.
