Seven of us visited the Centre for Wildlife Gardening recently. We were given a guided tour by Diana Wallace, who runs the centre for London Wildlife Trust. It was nice and sunny, so there were plenty of insects flying around, including hoverflies and the odd butterfly.
Diana told us about the centre’s history and showed us the various habitats they have there; and the insect hotels for solitary bees, such as the Red Mason bee.
There’s a wide variety of plants, both native and non-native, many of which are very good for pollinating insects. For example, we watched Ivy bees and a Red Admiral feeding on the ivy flowers. Diana told us about the wildlife of the small ponds there, which attract a lot of toads and newts. She lifted a couple of small logs to reveal two toads under one and a Smooth newt under the other.
Czech Conroy, Wildlife Gardening Group Coordinator