Gardeners can help wildlife
11:14 21st January 2010
Garden and greenhouse fans across the UK can help wildlife by communicating and working together, it has been claimed.
According to Leeds University, cooperation between neighbours could be key to boosting biodiversity in Britain.
It said that by uniting with a common aim, garden and greenhouse enthusiasts can create a network of habitats for birds, bees and mammals that will help them live and move between local parks, nature reserves and the countryside.
Gardeners should aim to make their gardens reflect such green spaces to encourage wildlife to move in, PhD student Mark Goddard explained.
"One person may plant a tree or create a pond in their own back garden, but the survival of many of the mobile species that live in towns and cities, such as birds and mammals, is dependent on the provision of larger areas of habitat," he said.
Residents in Leeds have a chance to make a real difference, with 30 per cent of the urban area covered in gardens.
In other news, the Royal Horticultural Society has revealed that Nottingham Trent University has signed up as a seed guardian on the Garden Organic Heritage Seed Library programme.
