Tag Archives: mulberry homes

News

Housebuilder helps plant thousands of trees and shrubs this year

Housing developer Mulberry Homes – which is celebrating its 10th anniversary of providing new homes developments – is working to improve biodiversity and ecology by planting trees and shrubs.

As part of the housebuilder’s The Mulberry Way initiative and commitment to the areas in which it builds, Mulberry Homes has helped to plant more than 3,650 trees and shrubs across sites in Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Leicestershire since April 2021.

Mulberry Homes plants an average of 12 trees and shrubs per new home delivered, as part of its pledge to create greener spaces with great living appeal for local people.

At select housing developments, Mulberry Homes is creating organic gardening clubs and is donating tools, planting spaces, a shed, water sources and decking areas to local residents.

For National Tree Planting Week – which takes place between Saturday, November 27 and Sunday, December 5 – the housebuilder is encouraging green-thumbed locals to get involved with planting at home.

Kerry Jones, Sales and Marketing Director for Mulberry Homes, said: “We are really proud of our commitment to preserving the environments surrounding our developments, and our drive towards our sustainability goals.

“At Mulberry Homes, it is one of our key ambitions to enhance ecology in any way that we can, and with thanks to our The Mulberry Way initiative, we’re delighted to be continuing our hard work to improve ecology across our sites.”

For more information on Mulberry Homes, visit https://mulberryhomes.co.uk/.

News

Housebuilder teams up with Warwickshire Bat Group to bust bat myths for International Bat Week

A housing developer has teamed up with Warwickshire Bat Group to help provide people in the county with a better understanding about bats, by busting the myths surrounding our nocturnal neighbours.

As part of a pledge to improve spaces for wildlife, housebuilder Mulberry Homes is providing bat boxes alongside select properties at its new housing development The Templars in Temple Herdewyke.

To celebrate International Bat Week, which takes place annually from Sunday, October 24 to Sunday, October 31, Mulberry Homes has partnered with Warwickshire Bat Group – which works to conserve bats and their habitats for future generations – to inform the public with interesting facts about bats.

Julia Waller, Membership Secretary at Warwickshire Bat Group, said: “It is highly important to help provide a sustainable environment for bats, and that’s why we are pleased to work with organisations which are helping to provide safer spaces for these much-loved mammals, such as Mulberry Homes.

“Bats are much misunderstood mammals. Primitive man’s fear of the dark and the creatures that were active in it, has left a legacy of myths and fears, and that’s why we are here to help spread the truth and dispel the myths. Here are six of the common myths which we are dispelling for Bat Week:

 

Bats are blind

All bats have good eyesight and only switch to echolocation (sending out sound waves and listening for their reflections) when it gets too dark for them to find their way around.

 

Bats are just flying mice

Bats are mammals but are more closely related to dogs than rodents; they feed their young (called pups) on milk.

 

Bats get tangled in your hair

Bats are very agile flyers as, unlike birds, they can readily change the shape of their wings. They may fly near you, but they are just after the insects that your body heat attracts.

 

All bats drink blood like Dracula

Out of over 1,400 different species of bat across the world, there are only three species that feed on blood, and they only live in Central and South America. All UK bats eat only insects.

 

Their nests can cause damage

Bats do not build nests like birds or chew on anything, as they just crawl into small gaps to rest or hang from a convenient spot.

 

Bats breed like mice or rats

Bats only have about one baby a year, or sometimes none at all if the weather is bad or there is a lack of insect food about.”

 

Julia added: “We are hoping next year to be much more active with bat walks, talks and surveys, but as winter is approaching our work with bats will reduce, for the bats begin to hibernate due to their insect food disappearing.

“So, whilst the bats are sleeping our focus shifts to a series of monthly talks about bats, which are open to anyone.

“One of our main projects that we have been continuing with, despite the pandemic, is our detective work in trying to locate one of Warwickshire’s rarer species of bat – the Serotine. We are especially trying to find where they call home, in other words their ‘roosts’.

“Although we haven’t been successful with locating these bats so far, which are one of the larger species in the UK with a wingspan of over 30 cm, we will be continuing with the project. This will allow us to not only build up a picture of all the other more common types of bats we have in the county, but also spot other rare species. In fact, it has already recorded bat calls from another rare species of bat known as the Barbastelle.”

 

Kerry Jones, Sales and Marketing Director at Mulberry Homes, said: “At Mulberry, one of our key missions is to help improve the environments which surround our homes.

“This is why we have installed bat boxes at our new housing development, The Templars, to help provide these fascinating mammals with further protection and shelter.

“We hope that with the ecological work we are carrying out across our developments, we can help to protect and attract wildlife to local areas where we are building our homes.”

 

More details about the bat talks can be found on the Warwickshire Bat Group website, https://www.warksbats.co.uk/aboutus/diary.aspx.

Priced from £239,950 to £429,950, there is currently a range of two-, three- and four-bedroom homes available at Mulberry Homes’ The Templars at Falkland Place in Temple Herdewyke.

For more information on the homes, call the sales team on 0333 121 1080 or visit https://mulberryhomes.co.uk/developments/the-templars/overview/.

News

Top tips on how homeowners can make their gardens hedgehog-friendly this autumn

Whether they are living in our gardens or just simply passing through, hedgehogs play a key role in our ecosystem and have been cited as one of the UK’s most loved mammals.

As part of a pledge to improve local ecology, housebuilder Mulberry – which is currently building new homes in Bedfordshire – has partnered with Wyboston-based Spiny Norman’s Hedgehog Support to offer advice to homeowners on how they can transform their gardens into better homes for our prickly neighbours.

Amanda Norman, Founder of Spiny Norman’s Hedgehog Support, said: “With hedgehogs declining at such an alarming rate, there hasn’t been a more critical time for us to help the humble hedgehog by trying to protect them and nurture them – and that involves us looking at what they need, right now.

“I always say teamwork makes the dreamwork, and that’s why when Mulberry Homes asked to team up with my rescue I was absolutely delighted. It’s all about education, but not just that, it’s also opening up our gardens and creating wildlife corridors keeping hedgehogs off the roads.”

Kerry Jones, Sales and Marketing Director at Mulberry Homes said: “Our gardens can be hugely beneficial resources to hedgehogs and there are lots of quick and easy ways to build a better and more sustainable environment for these much-loved animals.

“Even the simplest addition to your garden can make a huge difference, and with autumn just around the corner, it’s a great time to get your children involved too.

“To mark our 10-year anniversary of providing new homes, we have teamed up with Spiny Norman’s Hedgehog Support to provide 10 top tips on how to create a safe haven for hedgehogs in your garden.”

 

  1. Hedgehog holes and highways – by digging or creating small openings between fences, it will allow hedgehogs to safely pass from garden to garden and maximise their access to food and green space – we would recommend 13x13cm holes for the perfect hedgehog highway.

 

  1. Hedgehog homes – building a hedgehog home is an excellent way to get creative and provide hedgehogs with shelter and for those who would prefer a quicker method, ready-made hedgehog houses can be purchased online or at selected pet stores. Once you have a hedgehog box, placing the box in an area with undergrowth or away from direct sunlight is recommended, preferably with its entrance facing a fence opening. It is important to resist temptation to disturb or move the box once it has been placed.

 

  1. Nutrition – by providing supplementary food and water, you can help to ensure hedgehogs receive a better chance at finding these vital resources. Hedgehogs can consume hedgehog food, meaty dog food, cat biscuits and cat food. Hogs need to be fed all year round – they can wake up intermittently during winter and go looking for food and water. Avoid feeding mealworms, sunflower hearts or peanuts and milk.

 

  1. Objects and litter – to protect hedgehogs, it is essential to remove any wires, netting or plastic items which can trap or cause injuries to wildlife. Sport nets are a common hazard, and vegetable netting should be raised 13cm above the ground. Make sure to cover any holes in the garden, as hedgehogs have a tendency to fall in and can get trapped very easily.

 

  1. Make your pond safe – by providing platforms, sloped routes, plants raised out of the wateror a beach area, it will give hedgehogs a quick escape route if they fall in. Although they are good swimmers, steep slippery sides mean that if they fall in, they can quickly develop hypothermia. Getting out quickly is essential.

 

  1. Avoid the use of chemicals – it is much safer to use natural and non-toxic preservatives on your plants. Chemicals can cause skin burns and poisoning when the hedgehogs eat the things we spray. Avoid slug pellets and instead put sharp sand, crushed eggshell, copper wire or beer traps around plants.

 

  1. Nests and unexpected encounters – if you accidentally uncover a nest, try to cover it up again quickly and quietly. If it’s a nest with babies and the mother runs away, please monitor the nest, and if she doesn’t return within a few hours, please contact your local rescue. Try not to wake a hedgehog if you find one resting in your garden, it can take four days for a fully hibernating hedgehog to wake up. If the hedgehog has been disturbed, please leave some food and water nearby.

 

  1. Disposing of garden waste or mowing the lawn – before working on your garden, make sure to check around for hedgehogs as they love bags of garden waste and can sometimes make a nest in the bag. Always check the garden over for hedgehogs which may have developed nests within leaf piles or long grasses before starting machinery. Many hedgehogs are killed or badly maimed each year because of mowers and strimmers, so checkingthe area before starting work is essential.

 

  1. Encounters with pets – extra care is needed, especially in the evenings, to ensure pets and hedgehogs can co-exist with a little planning. Domesticated pets and wild hedgehogs can often pose risks to one another in an encounter, so it is best to monitor your pets around known hedgehog nests or if your pet enters the garden in the evening. We recommend extending leads or a muzzle after dark.

 

  1. And finally, get planting! – growing insect-friendly plants can help to attract bugs, which is a great natural food source for hedgehogs. Cherry trees are also a wonderful resource for hedgehogs, as they will eat the insects attracted to fallen fruit.

 

According to Hedgehog Street, an organisation campaigning for the protection of hedgehogs, the UK has lost over half its countryside hedgehog population since the millennium, with cities and towns losing a third of hedgehog numbers. It is estimated now that fewer than a million hedgehogs remain in the UK.

Amanda said: “It’s really, really wonderful to have Mulberry Homes who are also stepping in beside me here, helping the humble hedgehog at their fabulous new developments, with hedgehog highways and clever planting of shrubs, we can certainly give the hedgehogs a decent wildlife corridor through our gardens.

“Spiny Norman’s Hedgehog Support came about when I moved to a local new build village in Bedford. I was delighted when hedgehog started visiting my garden so started to read up all about them. I was so shocked to learn of their rapid decline. I felt very moved I made a pledge to help them.

“Almost all the hedgehogs I see need treatment. I’ve helped hundreds of hedgehogs that have come through the doors, working voluntary 24/7, 365 days a year and I’ve never been so busy. I’ve even moved house to be able to have a better working space. I now have a dedicated building, my hogspital.

“I rely on the kindness of others to help me keep things running. I am grateful for any support and I still self-fund too. My aim is to offer basic first aid, five-star care, and treatment as necessary with rehabilitation of the hedgehogs back to the wild being the ultimate goal.

“It’s all about co-existing nicely, and this is the way we will save the hedgehogs together.”

In Bedfordshire, Mulberry is currently installing hedgehog boxes and hedgehog highways at two of its developments – Maulden Ridge in Maulden and Manor Heath in Leighton Buzzard – where a variety of luxury and affordable new homes are being built.

The housebuilder is hosting collections for Bedfordshire hedgehog charities at the two developments in its sales suites, and with each donation, Mulberry is providing visitors with a hedgehog highway sign of their own, alongside cards with step-by-step instructions on how to set up a hedgehog highway at home.

For more information on Spiny Norman’s Hedgehog Rescue, visit https://www.spinynormans.org/

To find out more about the new homes available at Maulden Ridge, visit https://mulberryhomes.co.uk/developments/maulden-ridge/ or visit https://mulberryhomes.co.uk/developments/manor-heath/ for further information on Manor Heath in Leighton Buzzard.