In the past, we’ve talked a lot about how to prevent pests from moving into your grounds and making themselves at home. After all, you want to make sure your premises is an inviting and pleasant place, and rats running around ruins that image somewhat!
However, there are plenty of animals that live on your grounds, even if you don’t realise it. Birds, squirrels, hedgehogs, bees, bats and even owls have all been known to make their homes in the grasses, trees and shrubs around business parks, retirement homes and hotels. These animals are often harmless and important to the biodiversity of the area, so you shouldn’t be actively trying to prevent them from moving in. In some cases – as with bats and hedgehogs – there are protections in place to stop you from interfering if you do find them. Instead, you should be looking for ways to keep them safe while keeping your grounds tidy, and that includes keeping your grounds hibernation-friendly at this time of year.
Hibernation 101
Have you ever noticed how everything slows down a little in the winter? The cold weather and icy frost creep into our bones, and we find it just that little bit harder to do things. Well, some animals aren’t suited to the cold, even though it happens every year in this country. They might not be built to survive the chill, or their food source might become scarce at this time of year. So they evolved to ‘skip’ this part of the year through hibernation. They aren’t asleep in this state – but their metabolism slows down, their heart rate and breathing drop, and their body slows to around 5% of its normal energy use. They stay that way until the spring when the weather warms up and food is plentiful again. Just a few common UK species that hibernate are:
- Hedgehogs
- Bats
- Reptiles
- Amphibians like frogs, toads and newts
- Insects
Why Help Hibernating Animals?
Many businesses are being called on to do their bit in the environmental movement, and one of the often-missed areas is the contribution to local biodiversity. Commercial premises, particularly places like business parks or nursing homes, tend to have a lot of green space, which can be beneficial to both the business and the local wildlife. By taking a few small steps to provide for hibernating animals on your grounds, you could minimise your business’s impact on the natural environment and enhance the positives. Taking positive action like this can also demonstrate your company ethos, both internally and externally, contribute to employee wellbeing and help position your brand to develop relationships with the local community.
Set A Patch Aside
If you have the space available, one of the best things you can do to support hibernating animals is to create a dedicated hibernation space. This is essentially an area of your grounds that you ‘rewild’ and allow to grow as it wants. Plant wildflowers, don’t clear leaves, and build habitats where you can. Bee and bug hotels are very popular, as well as creating heavy foliage for nesting birds or hibernating animals. This encourages native species (including keystone species) to thrive and reinstate natural processes, and keeps them from seeking shelter in other parts of your grounds.
Don’t Disturb Hibernating Animals
During your movement around the grounds, you may well come across a hibernating animal. Hedgehogs are the most commonly found in the UK, as they like to make their nests in piles of leaves.
If we are doing leaf clearance for you, we take extra care to ensure we aren’t disturbing any hibernation nests in the process. If we do find a hibernating animal, we will leave the area alone and notify you of its location. If it’s in a difficult or dangerous location, we may look at moving it, but we prefer to leave hibernating animals where they are if possible. If we look after your grounds on a regular basis, we will check on the nest at each visit, and clear the leaves when the animal has left.
Food And Water Through Winter
Of course, not all of the animals living on your grounds will hibernate over the winter. Many will have to battle through the cold months, which are only getting colder as our climate changes. Luckily, there are ways you can provide for them too. You don’t need to do anything big. Simple acts like putting a small selection of seeds (shelled peanuts, sunflower hearts and niger seeds) and fat balls out for birds at a feeding station, scattering some of those sunflower hearts in the grass for any ground-feeding species. If you have a pond, water fountain or other body of water on your site, add a small rubber ball to the water. This will keep the water from freezing over and provide a source of water for wildlife.
At Pod Landscapes, we aren’t just about keeping your grounds clean and tidy. We also want to support you in your biodiversity goals and do our part to raise awareness of the protected species you might not know about. If you would like to know more about grounds maintenance in the colder months, or about how your business can support hibernating animals this year, just get in touch with the team today.
