Conservation and Eco-friendly Gardening

The Knepp Estate

Most people don’t walk through kilometres of scrubby pasture on a regular basis but Tom Forward does since he is an ecologist at the Knepp Estate in West Sussex, home to an ambitious “wilding” project which has received a large amount of media attention in recent years due to the rare and unusual species turningContinue reading “The Knepp Estate”

Britain’s Native Grasslands

I think there is a lack of appreciation in the UK for its native grasslands despite them being a semi-natural habitat like woodland. Unlike woodland, grasslands are perceived to be unnatural areas created and maintained by people for agricultural interests. However, more and more evidence shows that our woodlands are not as wild as wasContinue reading “Britain’s Native Grasslands”

Pollarding willow

During the middle of the last lockdown, I decided to have a go at pollarding. I had never pollarded a tree before and I have never had any training of any kind that involves cutting wood. However, I did some research online about pollarding to try and find out more. People have been pollarding treesContinue reading “Pollarding willow”

“Rewilding”: A Conservation Renaissance

The term “rewilding” has become a controversial topic over the past few years. The National Farmers Union is worried it will destroy the very fabric of the countryside. While many conservationists argue it needs to be done in order to restore Britain’s lost wildlife. But what is it and what will it do to theContinue reading ““Rewilding”: A Conservation Renaissance”

Planting trees

Often we hear about how the key to solving climate change is planting millions of trees. It probably isn’t quite that simple, but in a garden it can be a good way to encourage wildlife as well as reducing your carbon footprint. In a small garden one can plant only a small handful of treesContinue reading “Planting trees”

Make a log pile for wildlife

Just by making a pile of logs in your garden, you can attract lots of creatures to your garden. Slow worms and snakes will take shelter in the logs or in the natural materials around them. Slow worms will eat invertebrate pests, such as slugs, and snakes will keep rodents under control. If you makeContinue reading “Make a log pile for wildlife”