Nature – Going Wild for ‘25 (Part I)
Posted on 13th August 2024 at 16:04
Author: Nadine Carr, FSNC
Here we are in August already, and we hardly seemed to have had any summer this year.
As we start to edge towards autumn I always say to my clients, it’s a great time to stop and look at what you have achieved this year, consider how you could do better and start to plan how.
Below is a conventional written blog about this topic, but if you prefer to watch a video instead, you're welcome to take a look here. >>
I try to always follow my own advice and have decided that in one particular area I did more than before, but I could do so much more. So, my resolve is to do even more to help nature, to that end I have created a plan I am looking to "Go Wild for ’25".
Not only am I going to do more in my garden, but I am going to encourage others to join me. To that end this blog and the September, one will give you ideas on how you can Go Wild for ’25.
We will at the how’s and whys of going wild. Let us begin with what is Going wild all about. Well to use the correct term we are rewilding our gardens and briefly, rewilding a garden, however big or small is about providing an area where wildlife can visit, feed, breed or even live full time.
Now if you are thinking I don’t have a garden just a backyard, a balcony, windowsills or even just a doorstep, you can still help wildlife by how you use that space. Whatever space you have listen to these two blogs and take from it whatever you can, share the idea with others, even if you only do part of outside space, it is better than none at all.
Now if you already put out a number of bird feeders, that is better than doing nothing, however, ideally, we want to be creating a biodiverse area which will attract lots of different critters to our garden.
Nature operates in an interconnected way. Each species relying on another. Therefore, the more diverse we can be in our garden rewilding the better. It’s more than just attracting pretty birds and butterflies; we need to attract them all. Biodiversity is good for your garden, good for nature, good for your wellbeing.
Now we know what rewilding is, here is the why you should do it. If you are thinking my garden is too small to bother with here are some interesting statistics for you to consider; -
If we added all the gardens in Britain together, they equal nearly a third the size of Wales; and are twice as large as all our nature reserves put together.
Half our species are in decline, with 1 in 7 are heading for extinction.
Wild gardens are a big boost to wildlife, they give a big boost to biodiversity – improve water quality – absorb carbon – reduce impacts of climate change like flooding – help us connect to nature & therefore improve our health.
If we encourage nectar rich plants like clover, a vital source for pollinators, who are suffering in the wild, we can help increase their numbers.
The best thing about rewilding your garden is you do not have to do more because rewilding is about doing less – less mowing, less weeding, less tidying up, less spraying. That gives you more time to relax - more good health - more happiness.
Hopefully by now you are thinking, well this sounds good, but how do I go wild?
This is where the fun comes in and a bit of work now will mean a lot less next year. So, rewilding is about creating the right conditions for critters to want to come there.
So, think about some of what we need – somewhere to live that is safe and healthy in a good neighbourhood, food and water.
In this month's Blog, I will get you started and then for the next few Blogs, I will help you on your journey. I will post pictures on my website of what I have done and would love to see some of your pictures too.
Good Neighbourhood
This is the first step, and the autumn and winter are the perfect times to prepare this. So let us look at what makes a good neighbourhood for a variety of critters. You may already have some of these aspects in place others may be starting from scratch, you have all winter to get this done.
The first thing to do right now is ditch the chemicals, the increased use of pesticides and herbicides in our gardens as well as farmland has killed off many of our useful insects.
Changing fertilisers to seaweed based or even better homemade, good for the garden, reduces landfill waste and provides homes for more critters.
This brings us to how we care for our soil, how we care for our soil will encourage a biodiverse garden. Always use peat free organic compost.
Here is our first bit of doing less, don’t dig more than you have to allow worms to do the work. So, cover your soil in organic compost – check out your nearest riding stables and see if they have any manure to spare! Leave it over winter and the worms will work the soil for you. When planting only dig as much as you have to.
Our next task is to look at the garden and consider what you already have and how you can add to this. The two things to include are water, this is vital and can be provided in a variety of ways, the important point is to ensure there is a shallow side for easy access and if you are creating a pond then no fish, they don’t help. Also make them as natural as possible.
Now it is time to go native, consider what plants do you have in your garden and how close to the natural way of growth it is. Nature grows in layers, just think about woodlands. Ideally these are the layers you will need:
Canopy layer – older, taller trees (still suited to the size of your garden)
Low-tree layer– smaller nut or fruit trees on dwarfing rootstocks
Shrub layer – fruit bushes like currants & berries, or flowering shrubs that have pollen for insects.
Herbaceous layer – perennial flowers veg & herbs
Different species require different heights, the greater variety the better. There are some varieties of native trees that grow smaller like rowan, hawthorn, holly, silver birch, yew apple, crab apple, elderberry, plum or cherry.
Did you know that the UK has 13% of any sort of tree cover?
Whilst Europe has 46% of any sort of tree cover?
So, get planting and increase our tree cover!
One last point for this Blog, and it is another do less, from now on start viewing weeds differently. There is a quote "a rose in the wrong place is a weed, however lovely it may be." Weeds provide lots for our critters, so don’t go pulling them out and we will talk more on them next time.
So, whatever size garden you have, please consider rewilding at least part of it, however all will give you and nature so many benefits. I will be looking at backyards, balconies, windowsills and doorsteps shortly, so don’t worry you can join in too.
Until next month let’s Go wild for ’25!
And, remember to Tread Softly upon this Earth!
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