An Edinburgh artist group are working with the RSPB to turn Abbeyhill Colonies into a wildlife sanctuary.
Colony of Artists are a collective that mainly reside in the Abbeyhill area surrounding the colonies between London and Easter Road.
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The group hosts an exhibition each year which showcases creative projects by the residents in the Abbeyhill colonies.
Each house in the rows of colonies can participate and hold an exhibition of work with the opportunity to sell their artwork.
The collective also takes on community projects by painting murals and keeping the area tidy.
They have now announced a new project for the group of streets, to become a wildlife sanctuary as part of the Swift City projects which encourages the return of swifts to urban areas.
The rows of houses that were built in the early 1900’s all contain a small garden for residents to decorate how they please.
Majority of residents have opted to plant colourful flowers and encourage birds with bird baths and feeders.
They took to Facebook to announce the project, they said: “We've been busy bees working with the RSPB on transforming the Abbeyhill Colonies into a wildlife sanctuary.
With 58% of swifts in decline since 2015-2018 we wanted to take action to protect and enhance swift populations. All around the Abbeyhill Colonies you will not only find our beautiful murals but also thriving wildlife gardens and swift boxes. This supports pollinators, which in turn help provide food for swifts.”
In the shared YouTube video about the project, Giving Nature a Home Project Officer, Katie, said: "So much of the world is is urban so we need to protect nature in urban landscape. The colony of artists is just a perfect example of people taking action for nature on their doorstep."
