New Food Dock brings wildlife to Gloucester Docks

Gloucester Food Dock are working with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust to create a wildlife corridor at Gloucester Docks

Not only will this exciting new food and drink venue showcase an incredible variety of local eateries, it will also showcase what people can do for wildlife. The partnership between Gloucester Food Dock and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT) will demonstrate the Food Dock’s commitment to sustainability and the local environment, as well as highlighting the value that wildlife brings to our urban spaces.

The Food Dock will be surrounded by new planters which have been carefully designed by GWT to benefit wildlife, with a particular benefit for pollinating insects. The planters will bring variety and colour all year round, making it an attractive and sensory place to grab a drink or a bite to eat. Planting for wildlife is vitally important in our towns and cities, which can sometimes be mistaken for wildlife deserts.

The Food Dock and GWT teams joined forces this week to carry out the first round of planting, bringing biodiversity to the amazing surrounds of the Food Dock which are nearing completion. They were joined by some of the vendors who will be bringing some of Gloucestershire’s best food and drink venues to the Docks this autumn.

Over the last fifty years a range of factors, including climate change and urbanisation has caused a dramatic decline in UK wildlife, with around half of wildlife lost already. The remaining pockets of wildlife-rich habitats have become isolated islands which are less resilient to impacts from development, pollution and climate change.

Creating wildlife corridors in urban areas can help connect these larger, isolated spaces, allowing wildlife to disperse and thrive. This is where businesses, charities, communities and individuals can all play their part, providing areas of habitat that allow wildlife to travel through our city.

Nicky Simpson, Head of Engagement at Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, says: “We are really pleased to be partnering with Gloucester Food Dock. Everyone has a part to play in putting nature into recovery. There are many large and small actions people can take and we have lots of toolkits on our website to support people to take action. It is vital that we all act together now.”

Kyla Hyett, General Manager for Gloucester Food Dock Ltd, says, “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust to provide both a beautiful planting scheme alongside our restaurants external seating area and habitats for our local wildlife.”

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