Natural England

Natural England will be hosting a fun-filled garden party at the BBC Springwatch Festival at Southampton Common, from 10am to 4pm on Sunday 10 June.

Natural England, the nation's wildlife champion, is inviting people of all ages to the garden party which is taking place as part of the BBC's Breathing Places campaign. Natural England is laying on a range of activities, so visitors can try their hand at making 'bug bling' jewellery and bird feeders or get their face painted like their favourite minibeast. They can also get expert advice on making their garden a haven for wildlife and test their knowledge with an interactive quiz.

Natural England is working to ensure that high-quality green spaces are available for everyone, and urban gardens play an important part in that provision. Furthermore, gardens are almost certainly the most bio-diverse habitats on the planet, being typically richer in species per square metre than tropical rainforest. Gardens can also help counteract some of the impacts of climate change. Without them towns and cities would be more liable to flash flooding, suffer more heat, be windier and have dirtier air.

However Natural England is concerned that gardens and green space are being lost as they are being paved over or covered in decking or gravel. But gardeners can reduce the loss of soft surfaces and help to make gardens richer still in wildlife by taking a few simple steps. Wildlife can be encouraged by some simple measures including planting mixed hedges and a variety of shrubs, putting in plants attractive to bees, or even just letting a patch of grass grow longer. If garden surfaces are paved, using permeable material helps avert the risk of flooding. And the surface for car parking could be made friendly to wildlife by more imaginative design, perhaps by having two paved tracks for car wheels rather than covering over the entire area.

A fine example of this is the work done by the Marchwood Conservation Volunteers. Some five years ago they identified a plot of open land alongside the Marchwood bypass. The site was reclaimed land having been used for landfill many years ago. The volunteers set about seeding an area as a meadow, and with appropriate management it has now become a haven for a wide variety of wild flowers along with many animals including field mice, slow worms, butterflies and moths. Paul Fisher, Chairman of the Conservation Volunteers has some advice for others contemplating such a task: “It is easier than many people think. We get support from agencies like Natural England and now that the initial clearance work is done, we find that even a few days work a year by our dedicated volunteers makes a big difference to the wildlife the site supports. And the humans seem to benefit from it too!”

Alan Law, South East Regional Director of Natural England, said: “There is mounting medical evidence showing that being more active and having more contact with the outdoors reduces stress and can lessen depression and anxiety, as well as lowering the risk of many physical diseases. Furthermore, domestic gardens often provide the main contact that people have with wildlife and are especially significant in stimulating the interest of children in the natural environment. In some places children’s radius of activity from home has decreased by 90% compared with mid-1970s, so it is now even more important that their domestic garden provides the conditions suitable for a diverse range of wildlife. The work of Marchwood Conservation Volunteers shows the benefits to everyone of getting involved with looking after a wildlife site and is a brilliant example to others.”

Ends

Issued on behalf of Natural England by Government News Network South East. For further information, please contact Andrew Marratt on 020 7261 8637 or email: andrew.marrat@gnn.gsi.gov.uk.

Notes to editors

1. Natural England has been formed by bringing together English Nature, the landscape, access and recreation elements of the Countryside Agency and the environmental land management functions of the Rural Development Service. NE works for people, places and nature, to enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas; promoting access, recreation and public well-being, and contributing to the way natural resources are managed so that they can be enjoyed now and in the future. For more information, including Wildlife Gardening Fact Sheet and Top Ten Tips for Wildlife Gardening please visit the website www.naturalengland.org.uk/campaigns/breathingplaces.

2. The BBC Breathing Places Campaign aims to inspire a million people, currently not active in the environment sector, to get involved and transform or create tens of thousands of wildlife friendly greenspaces across the UK. The Campaign also aims to heighten public awareness and understanding of the value of nature and increase the diversity of participation in nature conservation. More information is available at: www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces.