I'M LOOKING DOWN at giants - a beech tree avenue that is at least 180 years old. The lime green leaves have created a spectacular show, and clusters of bluebells add a seasonal splash of colour. I can just make out the sound of faint tapping and out of the corner of my eye I see a great spotted woodpecker. As I make my way down the steep hillside, a speckled wood butterfly glides in front of me and I catch the excited sounds of a group of children pond-dipping for newts and toads.
Suddenly, the stillness of the spring morning is broken by a train making its way from Bristol to London. I'm wandering the one-mile trail at Bath City Farm and it's a real wildlife treat. One of 50 city farms across the UK, this 37-acre haven is a wonderful example of why these places matter for wildlife in urban landscapes.
City farms are celebrating their goth anniversary this year. Kentish Town was the first to open its doors, in October 1972. Only 5km as the crow flies from central London, it's squeezed between two railway lines and dense rows of housing in Camden.
The original idea of a city farm was a simple one: take a small piece of land and use food production and farming as a way to connect communities. Following the founding of Kentish Town, city farms started to pop up all over the UK. Green oases in landscapes of tarmac, concrete, and steel, city farms became places where children who might rarely visit the countryside could see a cow close-up, collect eggs from the hens and connect with nature.
All urban green spaces matter for wildlife, but city farms offer a bit extra in terms of the habitats they can squeeze into a space not much larger than a football pitch. They may be small (the UK's largest, Woodlands Farm in Greenwich, is 89 acres) yet they play a key role in reversing some of the species and habitat loss that we're seeing.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2022 من BBC Wildlife.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2022 من BBC Wildlife.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Jump Around - Bagheera Kiplingi - The acrobatic spider with a predilection for veggie food
Spiders eat flies, right? everyone knows that the 45,000 or so spiders in the world are all obligate carnivores, more or less – eating other animals, mainly invertebrates. Nature, however, loves an exception, and one particular spider missed out on that ecological memo. It goes by the wonderful scientific name of Bagheera kiplingi, and its claim to fame is that its diet is – at least mostly – vegetarian.
Female of the Species - Zebras - A strong sisterhood is key to staying safe
Zebras are masters of confusion. Their collective noun is ‘a dazzle’, which is fitting since their bodies and behaviour have been surprising scientists for centuries.
See It, Save It? - Wildlife tourism can be a powerful ally in protecting nature - but it can also harm it. We weigh up the pros and cons.
The sums of wildlife travel aren’t as simple as more tourists equals happier nature. How much did my visit really contribute to the conservation of Lady Liuwa and her habitat – and was that outweighed by carbon emissions from my flights? Did my presence disturb the animals’ natural behaviour more than it reduced the threat of poaching or benefited local communities?The question of whether wildlife travel is, on balance, good for wildlife is a complex one – and there’s no simple answer.
Can Your Really Offset Emissions? - Planning an overseas wildlife-watching trip entails facing some inconvenient truths
Imagine (or maybe you don't need to) that you hanker after the safari trip of a lifetime in sub-Saharan Africa. A 17-day tour beginning at the iconic Victoria Falls, passing through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, taking in some of the continent’s most wildlife-rich national parks, and ending on the lush island of Zanzibar.
Metamorphosis: a life-changing event
WITH EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST JV CHAMARY
New series for BBC One: Asia
Settle in this autumn for a new natural-history extravaganza on BBC One and iPlayer: the longawaited Asia, presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Loss of Antarctic sea ice could impact seabird food supply
Albatrosses and petrels may be forced to fly further to feed
Tarsiers in trouble
Urgent action is needed to ensure survival of the Yoda-like primate
SNAP-CHAT
Chien Lee on shrew loos, rogue drones and being rained out of bed
VISIONS OF NATURE
The winners of the Wildlife Artist of the Year competition 2024, from David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
