Biodiversity on a budget

There are lots of affordable options for carrying out relevant biodiversity projects. Grounds management for biodiversity is not necessarily more expensive and in some instances maintenance costs can be reduced, for example with less grass cutting.

Quick and easy

Some actions you can take to enhance biodiversity at low or no cost:

• Cut grass at different times and frequencies for different effects such as a wildflower meadow, amenity grassland or floral lawn.
• Sow wildflower seeds and plant bulbs into existing low diversity grassland. Make sure the species are native, suitable for the site and not taken from the wild.
• Make your site more biodiversity friendly by putting up bird and bat boxes on trees or buildings; put in some planters with wildflowers if you only have a little space.
• Leave some logs lying around. After pruning or felling cut wood into manageable lengths and stack in piles to create shade and habitat for species like amphibians, insects, fungi and lichens.
• Have some bare ground in a few places to provide foraging places for species like hedgehogs, frogs and toads. They all love to eat slugs!
• Leave some areas unmanaged or undeveloped to vary or retain habitats for species.
• Use peat free products in any planting, or landscaping works.
• Limit or eliminate the use of pesticides and herbicides during maintenance.

 See also the main Quick wins page.

Funding biodiversity projects

Some organisations provide funding for biodiversity projects but these can be short-term initiatives. If you are looking for funding for a project it is worth having a look at the websites of organisations such as:

• Awards for All 
• BTCV   
• Entrust 
• RSPB 
• SNH  
• Ecoschools 

Who can help

If you need help with developing a biodiversity project, however small, it might be helpful to contact your

• Local Biodiversity Action Plan    (LBAP) officers
• Countryside ranger service 
• Ecoschools   officer
• Scottish Natural Heritage Area.

Local branches of wildlife organisations may also be able to help, such as:

• Butterfly Conservation Scotland  or
• RSPB