Maintain Dry Stonewalls for Biodiversity

What:

Dry stonewalls are built by carefully positioning interlocking stones on top of each other without using any adhesive building materials. Dry stone walling is a sustainable practice as long as it  uses local materials that are sourced responsibly without damaging other habitats. Traditional hand built drystone walls need little in the way of mechanical tools and can provide a specific natural ecosystem for many species.

Why:

The nooks and crannies found in drystone walls provide shelter and nesting sites for animals from the tiniest invertebrates to amphibians, birds and small mammals. Their surface can host a diversity of mosses, liverworts, lichens and ferns, the species present being influenced by the type of stone. South facing walls are particularly important for warmth loving insects.

How: 

If you already have a stonewall as a boundary to your field or a garden, consider maintaining it for wildlife using the tips below.

If you would like to build a dry-stone wall, consult an experienced stone mason or learn the skills needed to build a wall using local stone.

• Protect from ivy domination: While ivy is good for nature, you can control it in places on the stone wall – especially the sunniest situations to protect the ferns, lichens and other plants growing on the wall.
• Occasionally cut the vegetation at the foot of the wall to stop the plants on the wall being overshaded. Do not use herbicide.
• Try boosting the diversity of plants growing on the wall by collecting seeds of plants that thrive locally in dry arid conditions, and dropping them into the cracks and crevices. Suitable plants include: Shining cranesbill, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Rue-leaved saxifrage and Biting stonecrop.