The Big Wildlife Garden Competition
Gardens
are important for wildlife. In fact there are 19 million gardens in the UK,
comprising an area more than all the nature reserves put together (more than 10m
acres). Now everyone has an opportunity to help create the UK’s
largest nature reserve by joining the ‘Big Wildlife Garden’ competition. This is
being run jointly by The Wildlife Trusts and the Royal Horticultural Society,
with funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Anyone can take part in the competition and as well as individual gardens,
there are also categories for schools, businesses and communities.
Natalie Rogers, Wildlife Information Officer for Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust says, "Gardens are vitally important for wildlife and create a patchwork of habitat for local plants and animals. The Wildlife Trust's 'Living Landscapes' vision involves linking up habitats to conserve nature, and gardens will play an important role in this. Hampshire and the Island have some wonderful wildlife gardens so please enter the competition to show the UK how fabulous our two counties are for wildlife!"
Entries for the Big Wildlife Garden competition can be submitted now and entry is free via the BWG website www.bigwildlifegarden.org.uk . The competition closes on Sunday 20 May 2012. Prizes include a wildlife gardening masterclass at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, where the prize-giving ceremony will take place, along with membership of the Wildlife Trust and the Royal Horticultural Society.
The Big Wildlife Garden competition has been created to recognise the importance of individuals’ action for nature, and the benefits it brings to people. The competition is being launched alongside the Government’s England Biodiversity Strategy. This stems from a commitment in the Natural Environment White Paper, published in June 2011, to ‘protect and improve the natural environment’ and to ‘reconnect people with nature’ in England.
There are lots of things which people can do to encourage wildlife to their gardens, even in small gardens. Here are some suggestions:
- Butterflies are seriously threatened by loss of habitat, so planting flowers with good nectar sources, or even better a wildflower meadow will help them.
- Build a pond to encourage frog, newts and dragonflies.
- Create a rockery or log pile to provide spaces for frogs, newts and beetles.
- Put up a nest box and bird feeders.
- Plant bushes and trees with berries to provide winter food for birds.
- Build a compost heap.
- Use wildlife-friendly pest control.
For more details and many other ideas, visit the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust website on www.hwt.org.uk