Renaissance in London

When I visited Green Park to view the many beautiful and heartfelt tributes to our late HM The Queen, I was moved, and thought about the wonderful legacy the Queen left to our nation and the Commonwealth. Indeed, it must be said that because of the Queen's love of trees, The Queen's Tree Cannopy was implemented to protect and plant trees for the Nation, and around the Commonwealth. The Queen carried on a tradition at Buckingham Palace of planting trees in the gardens to commerate the Monarchy both past and present. It was started by George 3rd who planted mulberry trees in the garden, hoping to enjoy the fruits. Unfortuneatly, they did not bear fruit but the tradition of planting mulberry trees has remained. Queen Victoria and Albert planted a pair of fine Plane Trees, shading the lawns. The Queen, herself planted trees to commemerate each of her Children. What a fitting way to remember our Queen's love of nature by planting a special floral and wildlife habitat where planting trees may not be possible. A lovely example project to make your habitats come alive is outlined below. We would be delighted to create a Gallery for the tributes. Please send an image in jpeg form to hello@rewildingbelgravialondon.com.

I have been campaigning for the protection of our bees, bats, birds, bugs, butterflies, insects and remaining urban wildlife since 2008 and now I firmly back the rewilding initiatives of Rewilding Britain, in Belgravia and the surroundings of London.

Spring is a lovely time of year, the renewal and cycles of life commence. It is a busy time for 'pollinators' such as buzzing bees looking to pollinate flowers and bird nesting. Life cycle events have an enormous effect on the health of the ecosystem, for example bee activity needs to coincide with flowering, otherwise there is a risk of bees starving and plants that are unable to reproduce. *'Phenology' is The study of these events and according to the latest study, there is an increasing risk of 'phenological mismatch', which means cohabiting specias are reacting differently to warming tempretaures and changing weather patterns.

Another example, Great Tits in the Netherlands have advanced egg laying in response to warming trends but the emergence of catapillars, their chicks feed on, have shifted significantly resulting in baby birds being unable to feed efficiently. Many migratory species are being affected by climate change, leading to 'mistimed migration' which may have disatrous consquences.

Currently there are no hard and fast solutions to these issues. *Read more about the study of Phenology here

We want to promote

• heightend awareness
• education
• holistic approach
• adaptation tactics
• better management of our environment and biodiversity
• care and respect for other species and the habitats which we all share

All these factors may help towards a long term solution and transform our relationship with nature.

Rewilding Benefits

Inspiration from Citizen Zoo, can be found news section.

Reversing species declines

By looking to the past to inspire future ecosystems, we can begin to proactively reintroduce lost species back into viable habitat, just like our Large Marsh Grasshopper and Water Vole reintroduction projects. In many instances, these missing species will have wider ecological benefits. A popular example of this is with beavers, whose damning behaviours create wetland habitats bursting with life.

Helping fight against climate change

Natural forest regeneration(vertical forests in cities), including grazing pressures from a functional mix of herbivores, will help to create a mosaic of forest and grassland habitats. This mix of habitats can store vast amounts of carbon.

Improving our mental health and well-being

Access to nature and its benefits for people’s mental health and well-being is well documented. By rewilding both rural and urban spaces, we can improve the accessibility of high-quality green spaces for people and wildlife.

Beavers are being brought back to London for the first time in more than 400 years to help restore nature and river habitat and reduce flood risks. A male and female beaver, both aged two, are being released into a specially designed enclosure in the grounds of Forty Hall Farm in Enfield. (Source:bbc.co.uk)

• Beavers introduced London
• Beavers introduced to Scotland and Wales
• Why have Beavers been reintroduced?

During the summer of 2017, beavers were introduced to fenced areas in Cornwall, to enhance wildlife habitats and help with cleaning water and frequent flooding. Beavers were released in Hatchmere Nature Reserve in 2020 as part of a five-year plan to restore valuable wetland systems.(7 Apr 2021)