Gardeners ‘must join together for biodiversity’

Every garden and greenhouse enthusiast in Britain has a responsibility to help wildlife flourish, it has been claimed.

According to the University of Leeds, Brits should work together, linking their gardens in a network of habitats that encourage biodiversity.

The educational institution suggested that everyone who owns a garden can encourage biodiversity and that by working with neighbours, people can make a real difference.

Faculty of biological sciences PhD student Mark Goddard explained that gardens should be planned in conjunction with local parks, countryside and nature reserves.

“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.

In Leeds, private gardens cover almost a third (30 per cent) of the total urban area, but garden and greenhouse fans must communicate and cooperate in order to have an impact on biodiversity.

Meanwhile, the Royal Horticultural Society has revealed that a group of local residents have managed to raise more than £3 million to help save Seaton Delaval Hall and its historic gardens in Northumberland.