If you are looking for an example of the built environment providing a home for wildlife, then a former hospital site in Brighton would be a great place to start.
This project first started when £2m refurbishment works took place at the site and nurse Heather Ball first spotted the swifts. “BBC Spring Watch inspired me to keep a look out for the swifts,” said Swift Conservation Group (SCG) volunteer and member Heather. “If they hadn’t mentioned them, I wouldn’t have known. But after watching that programme, I heard the swifts’ calls and realised they were nesting in the building.”
It was later discovered that the colony, the second largest in the south of England, had resided at the site for some time, when local residents were able to confirm that the swifts have been active in the area for over half a century. The swifts were using old and decaying ventilator bricks and other gaps in walls as nesting holes, but any repairs made to the holes would have rendered them unusable for the swifts, so Heather realised action was required in order to provide them with a nesting site.
In order to help, Heather enlisted the assistance of her fellow volunteer, Chris Lowe, who runs the SCG, and the site’s owners to see what solution could be found.
