Climate change is a global issue, but we must stay focused on what we can change here, at home. It has not been caused by us but by big business, by oil giants, by capitalism itself. But it’s us who are sleeping through the destruction, us who are letting it happen. We need to educate ourselves more on what is really happening, which goes far beyond seeing what’s reported in the news – and fighting against it. And we need to fight hard.
While we fight with all of our might to force politicians to make the changes we need for a liveable future, there’s a lot we can do at home. The UK’s 30 million gardens represent 30 million opportunities to create green spaces that hold on to water and carbon, create shade, grow food and provide habitats for wildlife that might otherwise not survive. It might not look like much but that little patch of land outside your back door could help species survive the assaults of climate change and habitat loss; it could be part of a corridor that allows wildlife to travel north in search of cooler temperatures; it could provide food and water when there’s little in the wild; it could offer a windbreak that simply enables bees to land on the flowers they need to feed from. We can do this, one garden at a time, one allotment, one balcony, one patio, one windowsill at a time. Don’t have any outdoor space? Join your local park group – we have 27,000 public parks – and a few extra habitats here and there will further add to the survival rates of certain species and make life easier for us, too. Don’t forget that all of these extra plants we’ll grow and the habitats we’ll create will mean there will be less CO2 in the atmosphere, less water flooding the streets, less heat, less wind. It’s not one garden against the world, it’s 30 million gardens, 27,000 parks and countless balconies and roof gardens for the planet.
Where to start
Ultimately, whatever space you have, look at growing more plants in it. Cover your walls and fences with climbers and plant up bare spaces so the whole site is greener and more alive. All of these plants will absorb CO2 while providing habitats for a huge range of species.
Grow flowers for pollinators, specifically single flowers, where you can see the central part of the bloom, and flowers of different shapes so they attract the widest range of insects. Keep them well watered so they produce nectar, even in a heatwave. Also grow more drought-tolerant plants such as Mediterranean herbs, catmint and chives, which don’t need so much watering but still produce nectar. (Grow honeywort if you dare!)
Grow leaves for leaf munchers, including caterpillar food plants. These are nearly always native plants – native shrubs and trees like hawthorn and hazel but also ‘weeds’ like dandelions, grasses and bedstraws. Look at growing near-natives for those arriving from the Mediterranean. Easy starting plants include fennel and carrots, which are used by the continental swallowtail butterfly, and cleavers and bedstraws for the hummingbird hawk-moth.
Plant a hedge, which will filter and slow down wind, rather than a fence, which wind will smack into, giving it energy to do further damage along your street. Birds will roost and nest in it, hedgehogs will shelter beneath it, butterflies and moths will lay eggs in it. In autumn, when its leaves fall to the ground, leave them there. Worms will take them into the soil and, along with fungi and bacteria, will break them down into food that’s returned to the roots of the hedge they came from. A mixed, native hedge planted with hazel, hawthorn, wild roses and guelder rose is best for wildlife but all hedges will slow down wind, absorb water and lock away carbon..
Dig a pond, which will absorb and hold on to carbon while providing drinking and bathing water for birds and mammals and breeding opportunities for aquatic invertebrates and amphibians. Get to know the wildlife that uses it, including the backswimmers and whirligig beetles, the pond skaters and the huge great diving beetles. Sit by it and feel peaceful by it. Hang around at night and wait for bats.
Make hedgehog holes on either side of your garden and chat to your neighbours about creating a ‘hedgehog highway’. Look at your garden not as a small, private space outside your back door but as part of a wider landscape, a network of habitats that could save lives and save species. If you have plastic grass, decking or paving then there has never been a better time to take it up.
Be wilder by letting areas of grass grow long, leave fallen leaves where they land and stop sweeping away the pile of debris that accumulates behind your pots. Let seedheads and berries feed the birds they are intended to feed. Be nice to weeds, for they are nice to wildlife. Please stop using pesticides. Please avoid using peat.
Save water when it’s wet so you can use it when it’s dry. Currently we seem to have wetter winters and drier summers, so we can plan ahead to ensure we have water to feed plants, top up bird baths and keep ponds full all year round. Buy the biggest water storage container you can afford and connect it to the downpipe of your house so it fills quickly when it rains. Look on your local council website, where there might be a discount on water butts, or visit your local tip, where water butts are often given away for free or for a few quid. Get as many as you have space for. If heavy rain is forecast, empty your water butt into the garden so it refills and prevents some water from reaching the sewers. If it’s dry, use that water to keep your garden alive, your flowers producing nectar. If you live in a flood-prone area then consider making a rain garden, which will take all the water from your gutters and hard landscaping and hold it in the garden, where it will slowly seep into the ground.
Grow food to connect you more with the land. The greater connection you have, the more you will understand about the natural systems that aid food security. Start with easy crops like courgettes and climbing beans. Compost your kitchen and garden waste to feed your soil and the invertebrates, bacteria and fungi that keep it alive. Rejoice in the many living things – frogs, slow worms, beetles, hedgehogs – that will live in your compost heap while it breaks down. These species will return the favour of you providing them shelter in your garden by eating the slugs, aphids and caterpillars that would otherwise eat your crop.
Put up bird boxes to help birds. Swifts and house sparrows are particularly in need of nesting sites but starlings and songbirds need them, too. If you have scaffolding up, erect swift or house sparrow boxes beneath the eaves of your house. The two species don’t get on with each other, so keep nest boxes separate to avoid conflict. In the garden tit boxes are readily used. A dense mass of foliage is perfect for robins.
Keep an eye out for caterpillars on nettles or other foodplants in communal spaces, such as your local park. If you find caterpillars, ask yourself: will they be safe? If not, move them to a spot that will be safer (perhaps away from the path or in a wilder area of the park, or your garden or allotment). Always move them on to the same foodplant you found them on; they simply won’t survive if you put them on a different plant. If none of the above options is available, you could take them home and raise them yourself. You’ll need a mesh cage (known as a butterfly cage) and a daily supply of fresh foodplant leaves. Please only do this if you can commit to feeding them every day and be around to release the adults safely when they are ready. If you’re a beginner, start with just a few and work your way up to caring for larger numbers.
Leave water for hedgehogs and birds to drink. If you see birds struggling to find food for their chicks in spring then leave out mealworms – you can rehydrate dried ones in a bird bath or similar. Mealworms will be taken very quickly by all birds so you may want to put a cage around them so only smaller birds can access them, which will prevent hedgehogs from eating them, too. But, whatever you do, open your eyes and take action. If birds and other wildlife are going hungry then feed them. You can save their lives.
Feed grounded bumblebees that have emerged from hibernation but haven’t found nectar in time to give them the energy to fly. Gently pick them up and pop them on a suitable flower, such as a crocus or primrose, making sure you watch them drink before you move on. If they don’t drink, find them a better flower (remember you need to see its centre) or mix a teaspoon of sugar with a teaspoon of tepid water and see if they will drink that instead. Wait for them to buzz and fly off.
Rescue hedgehogs you notice are out in the day during winter. In summer, it’s normal to see hungry mums with young in the nest come out during the day to find food and water, but at other times of year a hog out in the day is poorly and, usually, close to death even if it looks OK. Find details of your local rescue centre and call them, tell them what you see. Is it tiny? If so it won’t be big enough to survive hibernation. Is it walking in a circles? Not moving? Remember that hedgehogs never ‘sunbathe’. If you can quickly get it to a rescue centre, you may save its life.
Get to know and record wildlife to help track the movement of species. Growing plants and creating habitats is only half of the story. It will help so much if you get to know who visits your garden. Buy a bee book or a bird book or a butterfly book or a frog book. Read it, marvel at the wonderful things you learn and use that knowledge to better understand the needs of those living in your garden. Long-tongued bees need flowers with long flower tubes; frogs and toads need different types of pond (or different habitats within the same pond); birds have a range of food and habitat requirements that change from winter to autumn. Get to know who visits you now so you will know who arrives in the future and who stops visiting you, too. It’s important to know. Take photos of species and log your sightings on irecord.org.uk, which will help ecologists track population movements, including declines, increases and arrivals.
Reading List
Beebee, T. 1997. Frogs and Toads (British Natural History Series). Whittet Books, Totnes.
A joyous read about frogs and toads. What’s not to like?
Bradbury, K. 2019. Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything. Bloomsbury, London.
This will give you a solid foundation on which to build a wildlife garden.
Carson, R. 2000 (first published 1962). Silent Spring. Penguin, London.
Where this all began. Read it and weep.
Durrel, G. 2016 (first published 1956). My Family and Other Animals. Puffin, London.
Because we should all be more like Gerald.
Falk, S. 2018. Field Guide to Bees of Great Britain and Ireland. Bloomsbury, London.
Hands down the best field guide to bees there is.
Harrison, M. 2021. By Ash, Oak and Thorn. Chicken House, Frome.
Three little people set out on a journey to save themselves. A story for all of us.
Majerus, M. and Kearns, P. 1999. Ladybirds (Naturalists’ Handbook Series). Richmond Publishing, Totnes.
A great little book on the lives and species of ladybirds.
Monbiot, G. 2023. Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Destroying the Planet. Penguin, London.
This book is so important. It’s not written for the home grower but it has changed the way I grow my food.
Morris, P. 2015. Hedgehogs. Whittet Books, Totnes.
All you need to know about hedgehogs, in a really simple and engaging book.
Sladen, F. W. L. 2014 (first published 1912). The Humble-Bee: Its Life History and How to Domesticate It. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
I have all the bee books, and this is my favourite. A lovely bit of bumblebee history. Sladen writes of his time as a 16-year-old, travelling round Kent in his horse and trap, and digging up bumblebee nests to keep in his parlour. Considered the first in-depth study of bumblebees in Britain, it’s a must for anyone who loves bumblebees.
Tree, I. 2019. Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm. Bloomsbury, London.
