Please note:

The Go Wild Festival ran at Kew and Wakehurst place for the summer of 2003. As such many of the festival features can no longer be seen in the gardens, but this website has been kept to give visitors access to wealth of information developed to support the festival.

Don't forget to check out the latest events in the gardens. Find out more......

Biodiversity at Home

Wild Fact 12: Peatbogs are important sites for wildlife. They are unique habitats, which support a fascinating variety of birds, invertebrates and plants. Each year in the U.K, around 2.5 million cubic metres of peat are sold to commercial and amateur gardeners. Over 94% of the 69,700 hectares of peatbogs in the U.K have been damaged or destroyed. Gardeners can now help by buying non-peat products.

Wild Science: Gardening without peat >>>

Wild Fact 13: Gardens can be even more attractive to wildlife by creating new habitats such as ponds, an area of wildflowers, or even a log pile.

Wild Science: Gardening for wildlife >>>

Wild Fact 14: Bumblebees are disappearing from our countryside so why not encourage them by growing Larkspurs, Michaelmas daisies and Nasturtiums. If you want to attract butterflies to your garden why not plant Buddlejas, Holly, Ivy, Honesty, Sweet Rocket or Sedums.

Wild Science: Gardening for wildlife >>>

Wild Fact 15: Planting species of flowers that are native to Britain can attract a wide variety of insects and birds, providing them with shelter and/ or food throughout the year.

Wild Science: Gardening for wildlife >>>

Wild Fact 16: Composting your non-cooked kitchen waste means that many nutrients can returned to the soil in your garden, keeping it healthy in a cost-effective way! You can add any prunings from your shrubs and clippings from your lawn as well.

Wild Science: Gardening for the environment >>>

Wild Fact 17: Encouraging wildlife into your garden can help keep it healthy. Pests can be reduced by birds and other predators.

Wild Science: Gardening for the environment >>>

Wild Fact 37: Private gardens cover half again the area that is given over to National Nature Reserves in Great Britain. (source: Evans, D., 1997. A History of Nature Conservation in Britain)

Festival Features: Ideas for the garden >>>

Wild Fact 44: Populations of the house sparrow have declined by 56% in urban and sub-urban areas of the UK according to a survey by the British Trust for Ornithology. The reason why is not yet clear. To join in the 2003-2004 Garden Bird Survey, contact the British Trust for Ornithology.

Wild Science: Birds at Kew >>>

Wild Science: Birds at Wakehurst >>>

Festival Features: Loder Valley Bird Monitoring >>>

External link: British Trust for Ornithology >>>

What is biodiversity?
What is a native plant?
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