Wildlife Gardening is not about relinquishing your outdoor space to nature; that would be closer to re-wilding! It’s about creating a landscape to your liking that is sympathetic to the needs of both you and the wildlife. With private gardens in Britain estimated at over 10 million acres, the potential for households to counteract habitat loss by gardening for wildlife is immense and the benefits to us, calculable. On this workshop we’ll discuss the impact conventional gardening practices can have on the natural environment and how adopting wildlife friendlier methods for maintaining our green spaces can benefit us all.
Foremost, we will identify the harmful substances commonly used in our gardens, how we have come to rely on them and what are the ‘green’ alternatives? Also we will look at ways of attracting wildlife to our gardens e.g by providing food. And furthermore, how to encourage them to stay and thrive. For this, you will be making your very own hedgehog home!
On this one day workshop we will look at:
- How wildlife gardening can be good for our health
- Organic gardening techniques and how they encourage biodiversity
- The species that visit our gardens
- Plant choices for food, shelter and breeding
- Creating wildlife habitats suitable for your space
You will finish the day making a hedgehog nest box to take home
Finally, before you go, take a wander through the organic kitchen garden. Browse the hedgerow and young forest garden. Or brush through the grassy banks to appreciate for yourself the pleasures of the wildlife friendly garden.
