From Beyond the Grave. Life among the tomb stones.

Inner City Cemeteries are proving to be havens for bio-diversity.

Inner City cemeteries are havens for Wildlife ranging from invertebrates to larger mammals like Badgers and Foxes. Flora also thrives in Cemeteries.

The reason that bio-diversity flourishes so well in inner city cemeteries is that these environments are free from the chemicals and disruption used in intense agriculture and differ from gardens because of Man’s lack of intervention. In many Graveyards Ancient trees flourish that would have been subject to clearance for home building or agriculture had they not been grown in Grave Yards. In some Cemeteries Ivies have been growing for over 100 years. In fact Cemeteries have proven to be a very stable environment for bio-diversity in an ever changing world.

The Ancient Grave Yard Trees provide perfect habitats for Bat’s and bird’s. The Grave Stones themselves provide a perfect media on which Lichen can grow, there are 1700 British species of Lichen, 300 of these species have been found growing on Cemetery stone in England. At least half of these species are rare, having only been identified in fewer than ten Cemeteries, Whilst many other Grave Yard species grow exclusively in Cemeteries. Wild flowers also grow freely between the Graves.

English Heritage has produced a report called “Paradise Preserved” that offers guide lines on how maximise the benefits that Cemeteries and grave yards present for encouraging wildlife. These Guidelines include advice suggesting that the Grass is only Cut Once or Twice Year to encourage wild flowers which in turn attract butterflies and other pollinating insects and the installation of Bird and Bat boxes.

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I enjoyed reading that bit of information, Neville. It's right up my alley. I'm sure your country has more nice cemeteries like that, than ours. I wish more people realized how important it is to have wildlands like that.