Message received :
I decided to do a competition at my uni called design for nature, we have to design a bird box, bat house and bug house for an urban setting, was wondering if you had any pointers for them as a permaculture designer, I’m excited about it.
This request came from someone studying at a University, places where, ideally, knowledge is acquired through research and shared with the next generation. Despite the fact that the environment is a major preoccupation for the younger generations Universities are not acting fast enough to help with the social changes we need. I have worked with students who, through their own initiatives were trying to reduce the ecological footprint of their establishment. Unfortunately these initiatives received little support from the University staff and management. Silly really.
My reply :
Permaculture approach is to Analyse (needs, context, products etc) Design the system and then work out how/when to implement the design and plan a maintenance schedule.
Analysis
How do the birds/bats nest naturally? Copy that using locally available resources? It doesn't have to be a 'box'. It may be that a more organic form is better adapted?
What species of birds/bats/bugs hang around the area, what are the specific needs of each species?
Can the boxes be designed to encourage the presence of species of birds and bats that are becoming rare in the area?
The materials used to build the box need to be non-toxic and even better they actively discourage bird/bat parasites.
Protection from predators like cats.
Make them easy for the adult birds/bats to fly into and out of to feed the young and then easy for the young birds/bats to make their maiden flights.
Position is important too, easy access to materials for the birds to build their nests in the box.
Investigate if a bird box, bat box and bug house can be combined together.
Who would construct and maintain the boxes? Will the boxes have to be cleaned each season?
What are the threats faced by the birds, bats and bugs? Pollution? Traffic?
What are the birds/buts/bugs going to eat, what are their specific food requirements? Are there enough food sources locally available?
Are there any open water bodies in the area? Ponds, lakes etc?
Design
Basically designing not just the boxes but a mini ecosystem around them, no point building lots of boxes if the birds/bats/insects have nothing to eat. Community orchards, shared gardens, changing how the local council manages the green spaces by leaving wild areas and stopping pesticide use would all help and produce food for local people.
Making an area more attractive tends to encourage people to look after it better, feel more proud of it. Designing in sitting areas where groups of people can pause and appreciate their area is good for their health and also tends to reduce the local crime rate.
When the bird, bat, bug ecosystems are in place surround them with information panels explaining how important it is to protect these animals.
Design ponds, bird baths, lakes etc, these are useful resources for wildlife. Make sure that there are suitable fish in the water bodies as people might appreciate insects in general but don’t like mosquitoes!
Prioritise placing the bat/bird/bug habitats near areas where their presence will be the most appreciated.Around schools for educational purposes for example.
If there are existing gardens tended by local people redesign them to avoid the need for any pesticides.
Redesign the local area and it’s local economy in such a way that cars are no longer needed. Traffic kills a lot of insects and birds too.
Pollution kills and damages not only our health but harms wildlife too, redesigning the area to remove any source of pollution should be a priority.
Encourage local councils and architects to build houses, blocks of flats etc that have nesting places built in and are surrounded not with parking places but with productive gardens.
From any given starting point Permaculture designers seek to spread a design out, to broaden it and thus transform a local area. A request such as the one above is the ‘open door’ through which we can pass to start restructuring our social, industrial, economic and agricultural systems. Banging on closed doors is not only tiring but often futile.
We seek to find tipping points that can be levered to create positive cascade effects. In this case moving from designing bird/bat/bug boxes to transitioning the whole local area.