Gardening for Biodiversity

Gardening for Biodiversity’ will help everyone to help wildlife in their gardens, no matter how big or small. The brainchild of Juanita Browne, the booklet was produced by Local Authority Heritage Officers across Ireland, with help from the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Heritage Council.

Taking a very practical approach, the book details projects to help wildlife of all kinds under a range of headings, with tasks suitable for everyone from the total beginner to the more ambitious DIY enthusiast. With clear instructions and step-by-step drawings by illustrator Barry Reynolds, the guide offers the gardener lots of options to help our biodiversity.

With increasing agricultural intensification, gardens in many areas can be an oasis for wildlife, and with small changes we can make them even better. The guide outlines actions that can be taken to improve gardens for birds, bees, butterflies, bats and more, and the good news is many of the steps that can be taken are really easy. Just leaving an “untidy” corner of your garden for nature, leaving roadside verges to grow naturally or allowing some of the gold star plants for biodiversity - dandelion, willow, bramble, clover, ivy - a spot in your garden can reap huge dividends for wildlife.

For the more adventurous the book contains step-by-step guidance on how to build a bird bath, create a log pile for hedgehogs and mini beasts, and how to install a pond or bog garden. With an estimated 2 million gardens in this country, action by just some of those gardeners could make a huge difference for our native wildlife.

“Gardening for Biodiversity”, funded by the Department for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht as part of an initiative to encourage projects under the National Biodiversity Action Plan, is available to download for free HERE.