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Forum for Gardening with Wildlife in Mind

Hummingbird Hawk-moth. Photo by Dave Green

Natural England was delighted to sponsor the June 2008 Wildlife Gardening Conference, organised by the Forum for Gardening with Wildlife in Mind and the London Wildlife Trust.

Stephen Moss from the BBC Natural History Unit opened the event with a key note speech on children and the natural environment. There were also presentations and practical advice from wildlife garden experts Dr Ken Thompson and Chris Baines, plus opportunities to have a sneak preview of Natural England’s updated Gardening With Wildlife in Mind on-line programme. This programme will bring together even more information on wildlife gardening and will include a fantastic collection of sounds and even more photos.

Forum

The Forum, of which Natural England is a leading member, brings together a wide variety of organizations and individuals including Government agencies, horticultural and scientific bodies, nature conservation NGOs, commercial companies and horticultural journalists. All have an interest in gardens and gardening, albeit from very different perspectives. The Forum’s objectives are to:

  • Cultivate a responsible attitude to the natural environment on the part of gardeners and the garden industry.
  • Gather evidence supporting the benefits, to people and biodiversity, of gardening with wildlife in mind.
  • Relay this evidence, to assist people to make well-informed choices about their gardening activities.
  • Help link people and nature, through gardens, thereby encouraging a wider and deeper appreciation of biodiversity and sustainability.

Manifesto

The Forum has produced a manifesto for gardens, people and nature entitled Let our gardens live!

It focuses on the important – but often unacknowledged – role of gardens in making towns and cities more pleasant places in which to live, the part gardens play in bringing people, especially children, into contact with wildlife and the contribution they make to physical, mental and spiritual health. It also addresses the threats to gardens from development, paving and use for car parking.

Manifesto aims:

Garden Manifesto/Natural England
  • To draw public attention to the importance of gardens for wildlife, for people and for the urban environment generally and to the threats that gardens currently face, especially from paving and development.
  • To set out an agreed agenda for future action.
  • To act as a rallying flag under which many different and disparate organisations can gather.

Download 'Let our gardens live! A manifesto for gardens, people and nature' (pdf 442kb) PDF

Find out more about the Breathing Places campaign.

To date, 48 organisations have pledged their support by signing the manifesto: