Help wildlife across Doncaster this summer!

Creating a nature friendly garden – often done as simply as leaving an area of grass un-cut during the summer – will lead to a more sustainable ecosystem, support biodiversity and it will look and feel good too!

Did you know – there are over 15 million gardens across the UK, which adds up to an area bigger than all our National Nature Reserves combined! By taking action to make gardens more wildlife friendly, they can play an important role in nature recovery.

Measures such as setting aside an area where grass can be left to grow longer, incorporating native plants, and/or providing natural or manmade animal shelters in your garden, could quickly attract birds, butterflies, pollinating insects such as bees, and even hedgehogs, supporting a thriving ecosystem right in our neighbourhoods!

As a council, we are now four-years into our own naturalisation project, managing some areas of the city with local wildlife, such as bees and butterflies, in mind. These areas are spread across a variety of sites, from Town Fields to Mexborough.

These projects allow Doncaster residents to see nature up-close as well as delivering wider benefits, such as providing cooler spaces for us to enjoy in hot weather.

With the warmer months returning, we are encouraging all residents to consider helping the wildlife this summer by creating nature friendly gardens.

Many of the schools across our city are already identifying areas on their sites where they can support wildlife, by participating in the National Education Nature Park scheme – a scheme dedicated to helping schools and young people take action to help nature.

Some actions that you could take could be:

• Building a pond, or simply providing a source of clean water for thirsty wildlife
• Introducing pollen and nectar rich plants
• Introducing plants of different size and shape – even short and long grass helps
• Putting a bug, bat, or bird box in the garden
• Creating a hedgehog highway – small gaps in garden fences allowing them to roam safely
• Making a log/habitat pile, which can also be used in the autumn and winter months
• Putting in a bird feeder in the winter months
• Getting a compost bin to reuse garden waste

For a full guide on what actions you could take to build a nature garden, feel free to check out our webpage here - Nature Friendly Gardens - YourLifeDoncaster – and let us know via our social media pages what wildlife your garden attracts!