Gardening for Biodiversity Survey

From the start of our biodiversity initiative we knew that many residents in the 4Bs were already helping nature flourish through their self-initiated projects and we wanted to find out more. After each Gardening for Biodiversity talk we invited participants to complete a questionnaire designed by Paul Ritchie to identify what residents were doing in their own gardens to help nature (Table 1).

A total of 51 questionnaires were completed each representing a separate household/garden. The data was entered into an Excel spreadsheet for each part of the 4Bs. The percentages under the five categories (Food, Shelter, Water, Connectivity, Gardening for Nature) refer to the percentage of "yes" ticks under each heading on the questionnaire. So eight ticks out of the ten categories in 'Food' is recorded as 80%. 
 
The data show that across all 4 B's:

• 76% of respondents have provision for food for wildlife
• 61% are providing shelter for wildlife
• 42% are providing water
• 70% have provided connectivity for wildlife
• 50% garden with nature in mind

 
Conclusion
Because of their attendance at the talk, most of the people who answered the questionnaire were already likely to be champions for nature. However, we might also conclude from these initial results that there is considerable space for doing more. Why not treat yourself to a beautiful container from one of our fabulous local garden centres and make a container pond ready for spring. You’ll be amazed by how quickly wildlife arrives. And if you want to burn off some Christmas calories then you could dig a new pond instead. Happy Gardening for Nature.

Bekki Morgan

Invitation to contribute to the survey
If you are a resident of the 4Bs and you would like to contribute to our community survey you can download the survey form here, Please complete and return to [email protected]

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