Hampshire Life: February 2019 (^) 57
WILDLIFE
deluges,” Mark explains. This in
turn also impacts the quality of
our water supply because heavy
rainfall means that phosphate
and nitrate in fertiliser is washed
off the land and ends up in
our streams with no reeds and
marshland to limit the flow.
But this month marks World
Wetlands Day, dedicated
to encouraging us all to be
protecting these essential
ecosystems. It falls on February 2,
with organisations and charities
across the country getting
involved, including the WWT
with their 10 wetland centres
around the UK. “It’s something
that we celebrate although
everyday is World Wetlands Day
here in a way,” Mark smiles.
“Every day of the year we’re
trying to get people to come and
learn about wetlands, come and
enjoy them, and come and see
the wildlife.”
Sometimes with issues like
climate change, it’s hard to know
what we can do on an individual
level, but as Mark points out,
there is plenty you can do to help
our wetlands. “There are the
obvious things like come and
visit a centre or support a charity
like us or one of the other major
conservation charities. But there
are also things that you can do in
your garden. The most obvious
one is building a pond, which is
a mini wetland in your garden,
which will be great for wildlife.”
He also explains another helpful
tool is to disconnect your rain
drainpipe into a pond or a boggy
area in your garden, reducing the
pressure on the sewage system
and stopping the overflow of
sewage into open rivers.
Improving our wetlands is
good news for us, but also for
the wildlife that use them.
“Wetlands are incredible for
wildlife, including many rare and
stunning animals and birds that
shelter, swim, nest, bathe and
feed in them,” James Wyver from
the RSPB tells me. Indeed, while
wetlands cover only three per
cent of the UK’s land structure,
they support 10 per cent of our
species, with all sorts of animals
you might expect like frogs and
ducks needing them, as well as
others you might not, like rodents
and shrews. And as James points
out, the efforts into protecting
wetlands are beginning to have
a great impact. “The bittern, a
reedbed-loving bird, has bounced
back in recent years thanks to
wetlands being protected and
restored,” he explains. “In the
future you may see cranes and
beavers, both of which have
recently returned to some of our
marshlands and waterways.”
So with these important
ecosystems at risk and plenty to
do about it, there’s no excuse not
to get involved in protecting our
wetlands this month.
See more at wwt.org.uk
‘Wetlands are incredible for
wildlife, including many rare and
stunning animals and birds’
Barnacle geese feeding on wetlands
Attract the Common Frog to your garden with a pond Great-crested Grebe courtship display
Doherty; Bottom right by Saleel TambePhotos: Top left by David Howarth; Top right by WWT; Bottom left by John
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