Biodiversity

If we were to add up the area taken up by all the gardens in Britain, this would equate to an area larger than all the nature reserves in Britain. Therefore gardens are seen as potentially one of the most important biodiversity resources in Britain. There are a number of ways in which biodiversity can be enhanced in gardens including:

• Planting and encouraging wildflowers in your garden, try to select native species that grow naturally in your area.
• Providing nectar rich flowers for pollinators.
• Not using slug pellets. The use of slug pellets may detrimentally affect our hedgehog and garden bird populations
• Not using pesticides, these often kill beneficial insects such as bees, as well as ‘pest species’
• Putting up nest boxes for birds or bats
• Feeding the birds, especially during winter
• Leaving areas of your lawn unmown
• Creating log piles for invertebrates and small mammals
• Making sure your fences have a gap underneath them to allow the passage of small mammals
• Creating bug hotels for solitary bees and other invertebrates
• Making a wildlife pond, even a small pond can attract a huge variety of species and make a large difference!
• Planting native hedgerows instead of fencing