This is an exciting collaboration between Wilderhood Watch and six St Albans allotment sites, funded by a grant from the RHS.
Our intention is to run Wilderhood Watch projects on all participating allotments, encouraging and supporting plot holders to grow produce in a more wildlife friendly way. There are many options, including creating Pollinator Highways with a special focus on drought resistant or companion planting, or modifying our Toad Road project to concentrate on creating sustainable water sources and digging dragonfly ponds.
We’ll also be involving the key streets which run between our allotments by finding residents who would be willing to coordinate a Wilderhood Watch project. They will be well supported by all of the organisations involved, and will be welcome to attend fun, informative events at their nearby allotments. Having this two pronged approach will ultimately not only create more space for wildlife within our allotments, but enable animals to travel safely between allotments via these newly linked gardens.
Before choosing which project or projects would be best suited for our allotments, we intend to carry out habitat surveys to assess what already exists on our sites. We’ll be sending out questionnaires to all our plot holders, asking them what aspects of gardening for wildlife they’d particularly like us to focus on. Also, our recent wildflower, invertebrate, small mammal, bird and reptile bioblitzes will provide valuable information which we can use to inform any decisions.
Allotment network
- Sandridge Rd Allotments including Beech Rd and Bernard’s Heath Junior School (via Marshall Ave, Sandridge Rd, Grange St, Church St and Folly Lane to the Folly Lane Allotments)
- Folly Lane Allotments including Goldsmith Way and Artisan Cresc (via the Victoria playing fields, Verulam Rd, London Rd, Watson’s Walk and Cottonmill Lane to the Cottonmill, Sopwell and Nunnery Allotments).
- Cottonmill, Sopwell and Nunnery Allotments including Old Sopwell Gardens, Prospect Rd and St Peter’s School (via the Alban Way, Orient Close and Camp Rd to the Camp Allotments)
- Camp Allotments including Springfield Rd (via Camp Rd, Lemsford Rd, Lancaster Rd, Sandridge Rd and Marshall Ave back to the Sandridge Rd Allotments).
If you are a plot holder on any of the participating allotments or live on any of the above streets we would love to hear from you! Please contact Nadia (nadia@wilderhoodwatch.org) or Tricia (triciagibbonsuk@yahoo.co.uk) for further details.
