Promoting sustainable living within the local community

Downton Green Network

See also our water-saving tips for gardeners.

 Some useful web-sites:

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/savingbees

https://www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk

More Wildlife Friendly Gardening Tips

Compost heaps/bins are not only good for enriching your soil but provide nourishment for many small creatures as they recycle your waste. If buying compost, avoid peat based products.

Trees - especially native species and fruit trees - are a great attraction for wildlife and can be accommodated even in small gardens with careful choice of variety. 
If you have room to leave dead wood in place it will nurture beetles, fungi & mosses.

Water is a great wildlife resource, so a pond or even a small water feature provides a valuable addition to the garden.  Make sure you include a shallow area to allow escape for hedgehogs and other small animals if necessary!
Avoid the use of slug pellets, which are another hazard for hedgehogs and can also poison birds. Go instead for non toxic pellets, ‘slug pubs’ or biological control with the Nemaslug.
Make a hole for hedgehogs! If your garden is surrounded by close panel fencing or walls, making a small passageway to a neighbouring garden will allow nightly transit for the animal
Good wildlife gardening means aiming for a balanced ecosystem - rather than going for toxic chemicals, rely on natural predators to help deal with potential pests.
A wildlife garden should also be a sustainable garden, where scarce resources are conserved and materials reused or recycled wherever possible.