2021 Wildlife Garden Competition
We want to find the Most Wildlife Friendly Garden in our area!
We know that gardens make up more space nationally than all the UK’s nature reserves combined. So, our gardens really do make a difference.
More and more land is being lost locally to new housing and the intensive agriculture that has fed us for the last 50 plus years also takes its toll on nature. Being proactive and supporting nature in our gardens can fill in some of those gaps and create linked corridors for nature; allowing birds, butterflies, bees, birds, mammals, amphibians and more to thrive! And as a bonus, we get to nature watch and listen to the birds sing in our gardens!
How to take part
The entry form will be here on the website open for entries between the 1st of May and the 6th of June. Our judging criteria are the garden features and management listed on our Wildlife Gardening page. We will shortlist those who the judges will visit in July. And the winner will be announced after that!
Entries are open to:
residents of E &W Hagbourne and Upton
families of children attending Hagbourne School and Pre-school
those with an allotment at Butts Piece
Prizes
We have a range of prizes to choose from; a luxury, ethically-sourced hamper and two wildlife garden bundles with different products to use and enjoy in your garden.
What to do now
Before entries open, we’d like to share some ideas with you to try in your garden.
Let part of your lawn grow long - this idea will save you time and money. All you need to do is leave some of your lawn uncut and sit back and watch bees enjoying the flowers of daisies, dandelions and more! There are many campaigns supporting making more space for nature. Have a look at the The Blue Campaign which encourages us to do just that. If it’s your front garden, you can use a homemade blue heart on a stick to show others that you’re part of a bigger movement for nature.
Sow seeds – this is the perfect time of year to get out sowing seeds in the garden or the greenhouse or windowsills. You can choose from a huge range of plants, you could research local wildflowers that would suit your garden soil. You can look around at the list of wildflowers that grow in the HUGS Wildflower Meadow at Hagbourne Cemetery (listed on part 8 of our Wild Walk page). Or you might prefer to choose non-native flower seeds for your pollinators to feed on this spring and summer. Another great idea is to look up which flowers are night-pollinated so that the moths in your garden (and therefore the bats too) have an even better 2021. See this Butterfly Conservation website for more information on both nectar rich plants as well as food plants for caterpillars.
Start a mini-pond – submerge a leak-proof container in a hole in the garden with the water level with the ground and add stones / rocks so that any visiting amphibians can climb out again. If the area of water is small, check that it won’t get too hot over the summer. Consider putting it in partial shade and / or plant a dwarf water lily or other floating plant to help shade the surface. Then sit back and watch who comes to visit! For more details on how to make your new water feature see the RSPB's page on small ponds.
Feed the birds – they need to be in good health for the breeding season as well as for moulting. High energy food will be important for them. And how joyful is watching fledglings feed from their parents in the garden in spring? Don’t forget clean water for them too. For more advice and ideas see the RSPB’s website.
Talk to your neighbours about hedgehogs – who has them? When were they last seen? Do you have spaces under your fences / boundaries that hedgehogs can come in and out through? If not, can you create CD-sized holes in each side fence so hedgehogs can come and forage for caterpillars and beetles in your garden as they’ve come out of hibernation. Visit Hedgehog Street for some other great ideas on supporting hedgehogs in your garden.
p.s. many thanks to Wikipedia Commons for their beautiful photos
If you’d like a reminder for when the entry form is available, please leave your email address below.
