Wildlife Garden Challenge
Hampstead Garden Suburb has been described as “A large garden with many houses in it”, as opposed to “Many houses with lots of gardens”, and it is the connected nature of this giant garden which gives this project such a significant head-start in improving urban biodiversity.
Whilst one wildlife friendly garden is great, a suburb wide corridor of wildlife friendly garden’s is exponentially better, especially when combined with common green spaces. Everyone can do something - however large or small your outdoor space, whether it’s a balcony or a vast back garden, if you are an expert gardener or a complete beginner. All gardens have the potential to be wildlife friendly, and you don’t have to do everything in order to do something positive.
To recognise the great work that community members are doing to support wildlife in their garden, and improving biodiversity across the entire area, as well as to provide a helpful and practical guide of steps you can take - small and large - we are excited to have partnered with the Wildlife Gardening Forum to develop the “Britain’s Biggest Living Garden - Wildlife Garden Challenge”. This has been developed by leading ecologists, based on scientific evidence, and we are incredibly lucky to be the first large scale pilot of this challenge scheme, ahead of a planned national rollout. The impact of what we do here in the Suburb will be truly felt across the whole country.
The challenge is now open and accepting entries. There is plenty of information in the below links with the “challenge guide” giving you access to plenty of resources to help earn points and make your outdoor space as wildlife friendly as possible!
To enter, simply click on “Entry Form” below, to download an interactive score calculator, which will help you record and measure your progress. When you have achieved enough points for a Bronze, Silver or Gold award, simply email the saved file to biodiversity@hgsra.uk
If you would like to complete the entry on paper, you can download a copy here. Separate entry forms are available for balconies and terrace garden. Please e mail for more info.
For Silver and Gold awards, a local volunteer will arrange a time to come and certify your score. All awards come with a certificate and a window sticker, and Gold awards will also receive a carved wooded plaque for their garden. With your permission award winning gardens will be showcased on our website, and may be able to participate in media opportunities as they arise.
Once we have 100 local entries, a prize draw will be held for a £50 voucher!