Tipperary's urban wildlife features in new video backed by local council

Tipperary County Council's work on wildlife that has adapted to urban areas features in a new nature documentary produced to celebrate the wildlife which have taken up residence in the built environment, and to showcase some of our most iconic wildlife species which are reliant on buildings for their survival.

BirdWatch Ireland and CrowCrag Productions produced this feature to raise awareness of the importance of buildings for many of our wildlife, in partnership with Tipperary County Council, Laois County Council and Clare County Council and supported by the National Biodiversity Action Plan Fund of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
 
Breaking down the barriers that only people live in buildings, and wildlife lives in “nature”, this video illustrates that for as long as people have built structures for protection and shelter, wildlife has taken advantage of these buildings for the very same reasons.

“At a time when retrofitting of buildings is proposed at large scale to tackle climate change, and we are losing many of our older stone structures, we wanted to highlight the importance of buildings for wildlife and to create a better link between our built environment and our natural heritage – as the two are intertwined," said John Lusby, BirdWatch Ireland. 
 
“The diversity of species which use buildings and the ways in which they have adapted to use the built environment are astonishing. As the built environment is constantly changing, we need to make sure that we avoid disturbance to sensitive species and also to continue to provide space for wildlife in buildings, which has benefits for wildlife as well as ourselves.

"We hope that this video increases awareness and appreciation of the importance of the built environment for wildlife and provides the necessary information to help conserve some of our most vulnerable and iconic wildlife which are dependent on buildings for their survival," he said

Roisin O’Grady, heritage officer with Tipperary County Council, pointed out that humans shared the world with nature and it can be closer to us than we think.

"Tipperary County Council is delighted to support this film highlighting the importance of our built environment, heritage or otherwise in providing shelter for such a variety of species, some of which are our most vulnerable.

"Given the high levels of habitat loss we have experienced over the last number of years it is more important than ever to be aware of how species have adapted to our built environment and how we can support this co-habitation and equally important in newer development how we make space for nature,” she said.

Certain species are expected residents within our buildings, and for some the association with buildings is apparent even from their names, such as the house martin, which builds its mud nest in the apex of the roof of occupied houses, and the barn swallow, which nest in farmyards throughout the country.

The vision of a barn owl floating silently from a ruined castle at dusk may seem familiar, but less expected occupants may be a pair of kestrels nesting in a flower box outside a busy kitchen window, or a female pine marten raising her kits in the roof space of an occupied dwelling.

Of course, much of the wildlife which use buildings go unnoticed, such as bats roosting in the attic of a house in which the inhabitants beneath remain blissfully unaware of their presence.
 
Given the importance of buildings for wildlife, changes to the built environment can affect wildlife associated with it.

Wildlife in buildings can often be harmed during works due to a lack of awareness of their presence or indeed knowledge of how plan renovations and works in order to avoid disturbance, which is almost always possible.

The loss of old stone structures due to demolition, dilapidation or renovation is linked to declines in species such as barn owl and swift, which are dependent on these structures.

Modern buildings do not provide the same opportunities for wildlife.

However, there is a lot that we can do to improve modern buildings for wildlife to ensure that we continue to make space for nature.
 
The video ‘Wildlife in Buildings: linking our built and natural heritage’ is available to view at: www.youtube.com/watch? v=5lQt3C8uI5E 

This video accompanies the guidance booklet on Wildlife in Buildings, which is available at www.kerrycoco.ie/ wildlife-in-buildings/