Garden in a wildlife friendly way
You don’t have to venture into the countryside to see wildlife; it can be attracted into your very own garden or back yard.
The simplest of actions can make a real difference. For example, carefully mown lawns and weed free shrubs may look neat and tidy but they do not allow wildlife to thrive like long areas of grass and wild flowers, patches of nettles and piles of fallen leaves.
Some examples of the many things that you can do in your own back garden to encourage wildlife are:
- Put up boxes for nesting birds and roosting bats
- Plant nectar rich flowers for bumblebees and butterflies
- Avoid using chemicals such as herbicides or pesticides
- Supply bird tables and feeders
- Create a wildlife pond
- Build your own compost heap
- Plant trees and shrubs
- Create a small wildflower meadow
- Provide insect hibernation chambers
Northumberland Wildlife Trust has produced a handy wildlife gardening pack that contains a variety of fact sheets on how to encourage wildlife into your garden. This can be downloaded free from their website.
