World Wildlife Day; How To Attract Wildlife To Your Garden

In a few days we will be celebrating World Wildlife Day (3^rd March) so now is a great time to discuss some of the unique wildlife we have here in the UK, and even better, how you can help some of these amazing creatures and attract them to your garden. Even simple acts, such as feeding birds or adding a small pond can give local wildlife a boost. Read on to find out what else you can do.

What Is World Wildlife Day?

World Wildlife Day is a UN initiative, introduced by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013. It falls on Mach 3^rd every year, and each year has a unique theme. The theme for 2021 is ‘Forests and Livelihoods: sustaining people and planet’. The event was created to celebrate the worlds ‘flora and fauna’ and to recognise the important role CITES plays in ensuring global trade does not threaten the survival of creature or plant. If you would like to get involved, a great place to start is at home by helping the wildlife around you to ensure the local habitat remains rich and diverse. Many people enjoy attracting animals and birds to their garden as it’s great to be able to see wildlife up close and personal but interacting with animals in this way is also important for the survival of many species. The more people become engaged with nature, respect it, and want to help, the better for all species. For example, people feed birds partly from a desire to see birds, and partly because they want to ensure birds have enough food to eat. This two-way relationship is good for both us and the wildlife. So, in honour of this year’s World Wildlife Day, how can you attract more wildlife to your garden?

Attracting Birds To Your Garden With Bird Feed

Birds are right at the top of every nature lovers list when it comes to attracting wildlife to the garden. They’re also the easiest too! People have fed birds for a long time, from kitchen scraps to leftover bread, there are multiple ways to feed birds and attract them to your garden in honour of World Wildlife Day, but if you’re serious about doing the birds a favour, good quality bird feed is a must. From sunflower seeds for birds to general mixes, there is a variety of healthy foods you can treat our feathered friends to. Of course, different species appreciate different types of food too, so you can try varying what you feed and experimenting with different mixes to see how many types of bird you can attract to your garden. Attracting birds to your garden isn’t all about food though, there are other ways you can attract birds. Installing a birdbath is a great way to attract birds as they need to bathe regularly to ensure their feathers are clean. They also need to drink fresh water in addition to eating nutritious bird food. You can further help birds by providing nest boxes, and ensuring there are adequate covered and perching areas in your garden.

Attracting Mammals To Your Garden

There are a few different mammals common to British gardens, but the nation's favourite has got to be the hedgehog. Foxes are also frequent garden visitors, and some lucky people have badgers visit their gardens too. There is usually one reason mammals visit our gardens and that is searching for food! If you want to attract mammals to your garden, you can try leaving out purpose-made wildlife feeds. Remember, if you want to see hedgehogs, badgers, or foxes, they need to be able to gain access to your garden. If you have a tall fence with no open parts, animals won’t be able to enter your garden except for the gymnastics of the wildlife world - squirrels!

Creating A Pond For World Wildlife Day

Why not honour World Wildlife Day and attract more wildlife to your garden by building a pond. From an old washing up bowl to a huge purpose-built pond, a pond needn't be expensive either - water is water to wildlife. Here are some instructions on how to build your own pond. Once you have installed a pond you can expect to see a diverse range of creatures, from insects and reptiles to birds and mammals. Every living thing needs water. Just remember to make sure your pond is safe for all wildlife by installing ramps or ledges so garden visitors can find their way out of the water easily.

Looking After Plant Life For World Wildlife Day

Finally, as World Wildlife Day includes flora, we wanted to remind you of the important role plants can play in your garden when it comes to wildlife. These days people are often keen to eliminate weeds and get rid of flower beds in favour of patios or decking. This isn’t helpful to wildlife though and the more plants, especially native wildflowers and weeds you have, the more chance you have of attracting a diverse range of creatures to your garden. Bumblebees especially will appreciate you putting away the week killer and leaving plants such as dandelions for them to feed on. The more insects the plants attract to your garden, the more birds will visit too as many of our native species prefer to feast on insects.