With summer comes the sunshine, and with that brings the sweet sounds of song birds and the revival of the local wildlife – but how can we support them? CommunityAd were lucky enough to have an educational talk with Hook Village Wildlife Gardeners.
A page set up by local resident Leanna Milward, a horse whisperer and youth worker, with the goal of encouraging residents to create gardens that local wildlife can thrive in.
Leanna was inspired to create the page after noticing the decline of bees and butterflies in the last 2-3 years and after converting her small garden into a wildlife garden, Leanna has helped introduce bird feeding stations and hedgehog doorways in to her neighbours gardens.
Leanna explained: “Seeing how so many of us love wildlife, and how wildlife has connected us more as a community, I’d hoped that the Facebook page would inspire others to make small beneficial changes to their garden, and share ideas and tips so that we can all help each other.”
What advice would you give those wanting to create a haven for wildlife in their own backyard?
“I recommend doing some research first, to see how you can best help support wildlife with the space that you have. That way you start out with success from the get-go and can then build on from there. There are 2 primary ways we can help wildlife in our gardens: by providing food and also shelter.
“Also think about which animals you would like to help: insects, birds, bats, hedgehogs or amphibians?
“Habitat loss is the major cause of decline in biodiversity and wildlife. But, our gardens collectively amount to more land than all of our national parks combined, making them an extremely valuable resource for wildlife, meaning that WE have the power to really turn the tide and reverse the decline of our struggling insects, birds, mammals and amphibians.
“If you want to start small, making wildlife friendly areas can be as simple as leaving an area to grow wild, mowing your lawn less to allow flowers to emerge, or piling some sticks and branches that you collected from a walk into a pile where insects and maybe even amphibians will make their homes.”
Leanna also suggests taking a look at ‘Wild Your Garden’ by Hampshire’s Joel Ashton, where you can find tips on how to create the best wildlife garden you can.