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London Wildlife Trust and Peabody have launched a new community project to create wildlife-friendly estates in London with the help of residents and tenants.

One of the project’s key species is the House sparrow (Passer domesticus), also known as the traditional Cockney Sparrow of London. House Sparrows, along with several other well-loved and iconic urban birds and animals (see species profiles), have declined rapidly in just a few decades – after centuries of happily living alongside Londoners.

The project aims to connect residents and tenants with the birds and wildlife both on their doorstep, and a little further afield, in London. With the essential help of the people who live on them, we’re aiming to encourage and nurture birds and other wildlife on our target estates, through a range of practical conservation activities.

London Wildlife Trust’s Cockney Sparrow Project Officer Mark Pearson is excited about the possibilities.

“Hands-on conservation is often seen as something that happens in the ‘countryside’, that mythical place that many of us don’t have regular access to" says Mark. “But the built environment is a very important aspect of the bigger picture, and our inner cities have provided sanctuaries for lots of amazing birds and animals for hundreds, even thousands of years.

“They came with us as we made London the city we live in today, and have co-habited alongside numerous generations of Londoners. Iconic species such as house sparrows, swifts, bats and house martins have been part of the capital’s local communities for longer than any of us, but because of modern environmental factors, we’re pushing them out, and fast.

“They need our help sooner rather than later, and there’s lots of small ways we can help them. That’s why our project is so exciting – by reconnecting people and wildlife, everyone’s a winner, and we can really make a difference with the help of local communities.”

Cockney Sparrow activities include:

• planting hedgerow species such as hawthorn and blackthorn to create the ideal, bustle-friendly bird habitat
• planting grasses and flowers to attract the protein-rich aphids, caterpillars and weevils that nestlings love to feed on
• community workshops to make roosting boxes for a host of species including bats, swifts, house martins and sparrows
• visits to wildlife reserves and green spaces in London
• training to record birds and wildlife on estates

Three Peabody estates in north London have been chosen for the first phase of the project, with launch events in Whitechapel, Kings Cross Ten and Pembury this August. The project is expected to pick up steam as residents see the effects of their work and more species and birds are attracted to the estates.

“Cockney Sparrow is a great opportunity for Peabody residents and other local people to learn more about their environment and help protect London’s threatened wildlife" says Peabody’s Cockney Sparrow Project Manager Andrea Purslow. 

“By improving wildlife habitat and involving people in conservation efforts, we hope to entice the cockney sparrow and other wildlife to return -- and make London a greener, even more vibrant place to live.”