A Wildlife Friendly Garden

At the plant giveaway and Lympstone Environmental Action Day (LEAD event) in May, I spoke to Katie Wilkinson from Devon Wildlife Trust about their new ‘Wildlife Friendly Garden’ awards. I have been gradually making changes to the way I garden so that it is more wildlife friendly, so I was delighted that the changes I have made have been enough for me to gain the award.
The process was quite straightforward. I logged into their website at www.devonwildlifetrust.org/wildlife-gardenaward to find out what I needed to do. It is quite simple. Your garden needs to provide opportunities for wildlife to get food, water and shelter. You just tick the boxes for those things that you have in your garden – you must have at least 10 of the features listed, with at least two from each area (food, water, shelter, management and connectivity) – and upload four photographs to show these features.
If you are successful you will receive this simple plaque to put up on your gatepost. If, like me, you are leaving areas of grass to grow long, and creating wild corners, it is really useful to have something to show that you are doing this for wildlife!
If you have any questions about my experience gaining this award, send me a message via the WAL email: wildaboutlympstone@gmail.com
Mary Turner