Working with Camden Council and the Green Roof Consultancy, Buglife has created 600m2 of Living Roof for London’s rare and endangered invertebrates, thanks to funding from SITA Trust.
The ‘Living Roofs for Camden’s Wildlife’ project has transformed 600m² of unused roof space at Denton Estate into wildlife-rich brownfield habitat by installing three biodiverse living roofs.
Utilising unused space, the roofs will link existing fragmented brownfield habitat in Camden, support threatened species and provide an important nectar source for many pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies.
The wildflower rich grassland includes species such as Common Vetch (Vicia sativa), Self Heal (Prunella vulgaris), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) that are able to tolerate the harsh and often dry conditions found at roof level.
The variety of plant shapes and flowering periods makes them attractive to a variety of invertebrates throughout spring and summer. This newly created habitat also provides nesting, basking and over-wintering habitat for a wide range of invertebrates, and the invertebrates themselves are food for birds and bats.