What’s new?
8 August 2006
Nation asked ‘what makes the ultimate wildlife garden?’
Join the Wild About Gardens ‘Discovery Survey 2006’
How good is your garden for wildlife? How effective is a pond if you live in the city? Are your flower borders attracting bumblebees? Is your compost heap good for more than just your plants? What are the ingredients for the ultimate wildlife garden?
Wild About Gardens, a major project between the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and The Wildlife Trusts (TWT) in partnership with Ribena, is calling on Britain’s garden owners to help find the answers to these questions in a nationwide survey, the ‘Wild About Gardens Discovery Survey 2006’, and help investigate the links between garden mini habitats, gardening practices and key garden species.
The survey, which runs from 2-17 September 2006, asks garden owners to complete an inventory of types of plants and features in their garden including the garden’s location, and answer questions relating to gardening practices. The survey will also ask participants to note observations of key species. Garden owners will be asked whether the following species visit their garden within the two-week survey period: Hedgehog, goldfinch, common frog, toad, bumblebee, and specifically the brown bumblebee.
Stephanie Hilborne, Chief Executive of TWT, added, “After the huge response to our survey in 2005 we know there is great enthusiasm for wildlife gardening amongst garden owners. The key species that we want gardeners to observe have been carefully chosen because they are good indicators of the effectiveness of particular conditions and practices. Hedgehogs, goldfinches, frogs and bumblebees are all declining or fluctuating in number and there is no clear indication why. I urge everyone to get involved to help us gain a better understanding of how gardens support wildlife".
Anyone with a garden can take part in the survey by completing a questionnaire available on the website at www.wildaboutgardens.org or by visiting an RHS Garden or contacting their local Wildlife Trust for a survey form. Survey forms must be returned by 22 September. They can be completed online or sent to:
Wild About Gardens Discovery Survey 2006
The Wildlife Trusts,
The Kiln,
Waterside,
Mather Road,
Newark NG24 1WT.
The results will be published in December 2006 and will inform the advice given to wildlife gardening enthusiasts via the Wild About Gardens website, the RHS and The Wildlife Trusts.
Wild About Gardens aims to bring the worlds of gardening and nature conservation closer together, to increase understanding of the significance of local wildlife character, celebrate what garden owners are already doing to support wildlife, and build on existing research into the wildlife potential of domestic gardens. The project’s website, www.wildaboutgardens.org, hosts an online discussion forum for visitors to share tips, ideas and stories about their experiences of wildlife in the garden on a county or UK-level.