YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY

(ADVICE AREA)

This advice area gives info on how you can help your local community and environment. Everyone has a responsibility in keeping their local area clean and free from litter and in giving local wildlife food and shelter, but there are other things that you can do as well to benefit your local community and environment.

• Pick up litter - When you're out and about remember to bring a bag to pick up any litter you see. The majority of litter tends to be made of plastic, and if this plastic is left it slowly breaks down into the soil where it releases toxic chemicals. Any litter you find that can be recycled such as plastic bottles, tin cans and paper wrapping should be taken home and recycled, instead of dumping it in the nearest bin as this is not actually helping as the bottle any other litter that could have been recycled will end up going into landfill from these bins, instead of being recycled. This is just as bad as not picking up the litter in the first place. Any litter that you find that cannot be recycled such as sweet wrappers is alright to be put into regular bins in public. Many towns and cities have dedicated litter picking groups who go on regular litter picking walks to keep their area clean and if your local area doesn't have one of these litter picking groups why not create one? Groups like this will be supported by your local council who may supply you with litter picking equipment, rubbish bags and will collect the rubbish at the end of the pick. Get the free 'Litterati' app from your app store to record the litter you pick and combine your total with others across the world, as well as document litter hotspots and help build up a picture of what brands are most commonly found.
  
• Beach cleanups - If you live in a coastal area, it is worthwhile taking the time to spend a few minutes picking up plastic and other rubbish washed up on the beach. Some beaches are worse than others and have large amounts of plastic and other debris washed up each day, and making an effort to regularly pick this rubbish up makes a real difference both to your local area and the wider ocean. Similar to the litter picking section, the coastal area you live in will quite likely have a group that meets up to clean up the beach. If there isn't a group why not bring along your family and friends and make it a competition to see who can pick up the most. As well as the 'Litterati' app, you can also get the 'Clean Swell' app where you can document what litter you pick up on your beach clean. The litter you document in the app is added up to show the total weight you picked up and the data is used to determine what areas are most affected by marine debris and which form of litter is most prevalent.
• Volunteering - Most areas have some sort of environmental volunteer group who aim to help the local environment you live in. This usually consists of litter-picking or beach-cleaning groups, but you can also volunteer to help at local wildlife charities or rescue centres, help out at nature reserves or join an environmental action group, of which most towns and cities have one. Across all these activities you can learn lots more about your local area and environment and the threats to it and meet new people with the same interests as you. Get out there!
• (MOST EFFECTIVE) Make your garden a wildlife haven - gardens, especially in urban areas, are crucial habitats for all sorts of species. Gardens act as safe wildlife corridors for animals to travel through in urban areas and act as vital homes for animals that would otherwise struggle to live in an urban setting. Make sure your garden has something to suit all animals as the more habitats you create within your garden the higher the biodiversity and so the more animals you will see. Have a large flowerbed where you can plant lots of flowers each year, or plant flowers that will spring up year after year or re-seed themselves annually to save hassle. The best flowers that I can recommend are wildflowers native to your area or country. These look great and you can create a 'mini meadow' in your garden that will attract lots of bees, butterflies and other insects that generally tend to prefer native wildflowers to exotic foreign ones. In the UK over 95% of wildflower meadows have been lost in the past 50 years so it is more important than ever for insects to have these flowers available. Always leave a section of your garden to 'go wild.' Don't trim the bushes in this area, just leave it be and you will be amazed at how many species will move in over time. If you have a tree or large bush leave it to grow to create an extra habitat for more species. Also, you should consider creating a bug hotel for insects, the instructions for which you can find online by searching for it. If you don't create a bug hotel (and even if you do) you should definitely purchase a bird feeder. Bird feeders can attract dozens of bird species to your garden that otherwise wouldn't visit your garden, and are essential for local bird populations health and survival in winter when other food sources are not available. Different bird feeders and fillings attract different species so you should have a variety of feeders and foods to attract different birds. I would also recommend keeping a bird bath and making sure it has water all year round as this will also attract more bird species to your garden as well. Finally, i would recommend creating a pond if you have the room as ponds can become some of the most biodiverse habitats within your garden once your pond has been established for a few years, with animals such as frogs, toads, newts and insects such as dragonfly larvae (which will turn into dragonflies) common. However you should be aware that your pond can become a death trap for animals such as hedgehogs where they can fall in and drown so make sure you have grassy borders around the edge of the pond and an area where animals can easily crawl out.