To what extent has the new housing development in Kennett affected the biodiversity, habitat quality and the ecological health on the surrounding fenland?

My research question is to investigate the 500-home Kennett garden and how that will destroy the rural community. I want to look at the local changes to the surrounding areas and if there have been any side effects regarding this building plan and look at the habitats and wildlife animals and the consequences that this has caused

I chose this site because I grew up here and this used to be open farmland which consisted of many habitats and beauty like wild animals and greenery, now its lost biodiversity meaning nesting birds, bunnies, baby deer that are put at high risk as more people move in, it gets more busy and dangerous therefore many animals are found killed on the roads because of this.

The results suggested that the housing development has had a noticeable impact on biodiversity and habitat quality. Sites closest to the housing estate showed greater levels human disturbance along with lower levels of biodiversity, meanwhile site 3 being the furthest away from the development showed the healthiest ecosystem. Site 1 had the highest level of human disturbance, with the mean score of 24 which is high compared to site 3 being 9.

Site 3 was the least distrusted location and recorded the greatest cover of vegetation at 85% the highest average species richness and the greatest variety of wildlife. Showing us that the area that has les human activity provides more suitable habitats for plants and animals allowing a greater diversity of species. Overall, the results proved my hypothesis that increasing human disturbance is linked to decreasing biodiversity and habitat quality.

Restoration Plan and Discussion

1. Reduce human disturbance Since the new housing development has introduced more residents, more nature has been disturbed, littering, dog waste left, pollution from cars, trampling and land usage for human activity.

What to do;

• Put up educational information boards

• Install more litter bins and dog waste bins

• Preserve areas for habitats and keep them safe from human activity.

• Introduce speeding control methods such as speed humps

2.Restore native fen habitat One goal is to restore areas of Kennett fen that have been affected by the new housing development by improving habitats, increasing biodiversity and by reducing the human disturbance. What to do;

• Plant native fen species such as sedges, reeds, rushes and wildflowers

• Install bird boxes, bat boxes and insect hotels

3. Wildlife corridors My favourite plan is to create wildlife corridors, native hedgerows, wildflower strips and areas of unmanaged grassland. Because housing developments split habitats. Small ponds may be introduced to provide additional habitats. What to do;

• Plant native hedgerows between habitats

• Restore strips of grassland connecting the fen

• Perhaps create small ponds

Discussion The results indicated that the housing estate along with the human activity had a negative impact on the surrounding environment Site 1 experienced the highest levels of disturbance due to nearby roads, buildings and waste. This site also showed the lowest vegetation cover and the lowest mean of species richness along with the highest human disturbance. Site 2 represented higher mean vegetation and mean species richness with a lower mean of human disturbance that was lower than site 1 but higher than site 3, showing that there is a moderate improvement further away from building estate but still not great.