Wildlife Garden Award - get gardening for wildlife this spring!

There are 15 million gardens in the UK - an area greater than all our National Nature Reserves put together. Imagine the positive impact for nature if more gardens and outside spaces became wildlife friendly.

Devon Wildlife Trust offer a Wildlife Garden Award for anyone setting aside space for nature and actively attracting wildlife by providing food, water, shelter, management, and connectivity.

It doesn’t have to be complicated to create a wildlife friendly space.

What can you do for wildlife?

You can create habitat by incorporating ponds, bug hotels, bird and bat boxes, log piles, climbing plants or hedgehog houses.

Provide food by planting specifically for pollinators, letting patches of wildflowers grow, considering early spring and late autumn sources of nectar, or incorporating bird feeders into your space.

Provide water with a wildlife pond or shallow water dish. Manage your space without pesticides, using peat-free compost, and leave seed heads and stems uncut overwinter.

Create connectivity for wildlife by planting mixed native hedges, making gaps in fences for hedgehogs or leaving strips of long grass.

The principles of wildlife gardening are the same whether you are tending to a huge garden or small patio space. The ideas are simple but the impact for nature is huge.

Think your garden is a wildlife haven? Apply for your plaque!

Applying for your award and plaque is easy! Visit the Wildlife Garden Award page at Devon Wildlife Trust and fill in the form, ticking off all the wildlife friendly features in your outdoor space. Displaying your plaque helps promote wildlife gardening to your local community.

Once you have your award - encourage your neighbours to do the same! Help create even more connectivity for nature in your local area.

Have you created a wildlife friendly garden? Send us some pictures and tell us how you did it, we would love to hear from you!

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