Residents: Sign-up for exclusive content
Environment
The Gloucester Square Garden Committee are determined to maximise the environmental contribution of our 1.6 acres of protected green space in Central London. This page helps explain some of our initiatives.
Birds, Bats and Owls
The Garden’s efforts to support birds involves reducing disruptive lighting, increasing the provision of food and water, and increasing the insect population.
Lighting
Whilst some may question the impact of a few extra lights in London, there is a marked difference between streetlights, car lights, and lit up buildings versus spotlights shining up at trees and into the night sky.
Up-lighting large trees with spotlights has been condemned by a number of organisations, not least Wild West End, for the detrimental impact they have on nesting birds, owls, and bats. It is for this reason that in 2022 the Garden Committee removed (isolated) the malfunctioning inground spotlights installed near the 5 Plane Trees (c.2013).
Instead, the Garden Committee has pursued low powered lights around the central fountain, and in the beds specifically targeting shrubs that are unlikely to be used by nesting birds. This should prevent
Previous
Next
Food and Water
The Garden is slowly transitioning towards more shrubs and trees that will support birds through the production of berries, etc. During that transition the Committee will continue to replenish roughly half a dozen bird feeders around the Garden.
The provision of water for birds in Central London is especially important due to the Urban Heat Island Effect, discussed later on this page. Unlike so many gardens with dry / dirty bird baths, the birds baths in Gloucester Square have all been designed to be regularly replenished. The central fountain is supplied by a hidden reservoir replenished weekly. Low level bird baths scattered around the Garden are replenished by the Garden’s irrigation system. In 2025 we will be installing some more ornate bird baths, made from cross sections of our felled catalpa, to further extend the bird bath provision.
Previous
Next
Butterflies and Polinators
Previous
Next
2024 was the worst year for Butterflies in the UK since 1910. We are responding through introducing more butterfly supporting hedging (100s of bareroot specimens planted in 2025), adding 100sqm of wildflower medows around the Garden’s 5 central plane tree with long flowering, butterfly supporting wildflowers (1,300+ wildflower plugs installed in 2025). The wildflower tree rings are underplanted with winter bulbs specifically selected to support Butterflies during the early part of the year.
Standing water can be hard to come accross in London during the summer, and our Garden is no exception with a heavy tree canopy and good drainage. To better support the water needs of insects, our “bird baths” have all been designed with shallow basins to allow butterflies and other polinators to access the water supply.
In tandem, we are gardually installing “bug hotels” to support solitary insects find safe shelter, purposefully installing bug hotels next to existing bird baths.
Other Wildlife
We endeavour to be friendly to all wildlife including foxes (that predicate on rats and other vermin) and squirrels.
For Squirrels we provide a distraction nut feeder next to the Playground that is filled once a month. This reduces the amount squirrels attempt to feed from the birdfeeders, which would otherwise waste funds, and discourage birds. Whilst it frequently runs empty, the squirrels are storring a lot of the nuts they remove, therefore restraint is required in restocking of nuts.
Foxes are territorial, and the quiet, lush 1.6 acres of the Gloucester Square Garden represents prime real estate. There is therefore little benefit in euthanising or attempting to discourage foxes, as if the territory is vacant, another fox will simply move in. A fox free garden would also likely see higher rates of vermin such as rats. As such the Garden Committee’s approach is to discourage foxes from denning in areas of high human activity (such as around the shed and playground), but not interfering with attempts to den in the middle of flowerbeds, etc. More on the Garden’s fox policy can be found on our dedicated page:
Previous
Next
Urban Heat Island Effect
The Urban Heat Island effect encompasses the many factors that cause built-up cities like London to become warmer than suburban and rural areas, which in turn reduces the native plants and wildlife the urban area can support. Key contributing factors include:
- Surface Materials: Dark, impervious surfaces (tarmac, concrete) in cities absorb and store more solar radiation than vegetated rural areas.
- Lack of Vegetation: Fewer trees and plants in urban areas mean less evapotranspiration, which naturally cools the environment.
- Building Density: Tall, closely spaced buildings can trap heat and reduce air circulation.
- Anthropogenic Heat: Heat generated from vehicles, air conditioning, and industrial processes contributes to urban warming.
The Urban Heat Island Effect not only impacts the management of our Garden, but also the importance it can play in combatting excessive heat. From a management perspective, we frequently invest in trees and plants that are more suited to slightly warmer climate than the rest of the UK.
In terms of combatting the Urban Heat Island Effect in the summer, the single biggest contributor to reflecting solar radiation along with shading, and thus cooling, the ground area Gloucester Square, is the substantial tree canopy (nearly 2 acres worth) Garden’s 14 Plane Trees.
However as deciduos trees, the Planes do not provide a signifcant contribution for the 6 winter months of the year, as is also true of the large red oak in the garden. As the committee replaces medium height trees in the garden, we are endeavouring to plant evergreen trees instead of deciduos, to extend the shading benefit.
We accept and work with Westminster’s (our local authorities) position for trees in our area, which is to maintain and extend healthy canopies wherever possible.