Scales of rewilding

There are those that think it’s go big or go home with re-wilding, but if we all did something little it would make a big impact and can have huge impact on our collective consciousness about an issue.

We’ve picked some ideas at all scales so whether you are working alone, bringing your neighbours together, working in an organisation or from a landowner’s perspective there is something for everybody.

• Contact your council about Bee Bus Stops – bus stops that have planting incorporated into the roof. The Wildlife Trusts are advising local councils on locations for these roofs that will have the biggest positive impact and play an active part in tackling the decline of insects.
• Get together with neighbours on your street and suggest a location for a parklet (more on them later)
• Guerrilla gardening – essentially gardening without asking – tackle an unloved area with hardly local plants that can survive without constant looking after. You could even throw a ‘seed-bomb’ over a fence into an area that you can’t access.

• Choose native plants for your window box – these plants have evolved to local conditions and are therefore these are the favourite plants for local wildlife. If you’re unsure whether a plant is native, there is a long list here, courtesy of the Chelsea Flower Show’s 2022 Best in Show winner.
• Choose plants that pollinators like bees and butterflies will love – when buying seeds or plants, the labels will usually have these details printed on.

Parklets are what happens when parking spaces are transformed into a community space – they provide spaces for people to interact, to rest, for children to play, for greenery, bike parking and other commercial and community uses. Chat to your neighbours to see if there’s a spot on your street that could be transformed. Read Living Streets’ guide to parklets here.

The same planting guidelines as above apply to gardens, but with more space you can make an even bigger impact!

• Wildlife corridors are a way to connect your garden with your neighbours and allow safe passage for creatures to roam in search of food or mates. You can make a small hole at the bottom of your fence to create a ‘Hedgehog Highway’.
• Reduce the size of your resource-greedy lawn by letting some of the grass grow long, and sow some wildflower seeds for your very own mini-meadow!
• Stop using pesticides – the more ‘wild’ you let your garden grow the better, it will attract birds and small mammals to control the bug population!
• Bug hotels are safe havens for little garden beasts – build them out of bricks, sticks, stones and logs, or you can buy one ready-made.
• If you have room, consider incorporating a pond into your garden. If planned properly it will attract all kinds of wildlife like frogs, dragonflies, and newts.
  

If you want to support an organisation that is looking a rewilding on a large scale we love the work Mosaic are doing with an adopting land programme that allows more land to be turned back to wild habitats. Read more here.