You don’t need acres of countryside to make a difference to wildlife. Sometimes, all it takes is a few planters, an old sink and a willingness to let nature move in.

That’s exactly what’s happening in Faringdon, Oxfordshire, where residents of Oakwood House and children from a local primary school have worked together to turn underused communal spaces into thriving wildlife-friendly gardens.

The project, featured in a recent Community First Oxfordshire article, includes pollinator-friendly plants, recycled wooden planters, a wildlife water feature made from an old sink and a large insect hotel.

It’s a wonderful example of smaller-scale urban rewilding in action. And with autumn underway, it’s also a useful reminder that now is an excellent time to prepare our gardens, balconies and community spaces for wildlife.

Here are five practical ways to get started.

1. Leave the leaves (at least some of them)

Best for: Gardens, courtyards and shared green spaces.

One of the easiest ways to support wildlife this autumn is to do a little less tidying. Fallen leaves provide shelter for insects, spiders and other invertebrates, while hedgehogs may use piles of leaves as nesting material. As leaves decompose, they also help enrich the soil.

What to do this October:

• Rake leaves off paths and lawns where necessary, but move some into garden borders or beneath hedges.

• Create a small leaf pile in a quiet, sheltered corner.

• Leave some dead plant stems standing over winter to provide insect habitat.

Avoid piling leaves over delicate plants or blocking drainage. The aim isn’t to abandon your garden, just to make a little more room for nature.

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2. Plant now for spring pollinators

Best for: Balconies, window boxes, patios and small gardens.

Autumn is a great time to plant spring-flowering bulbs. These can provide valuable nectar and pollen for early-emerging insects when relatively few other flowers are available. Even a few containers can help.

What to do this October:

• Plant crocuses and grape hyacinths in pots or borders.

• Choose single-flowered varieties that allow pollinators to reach the flowers.

• Use peat-free compost and containers with drainage holes.

• Consider native spring-flowering plants such as primroses for suitable shady spaces.

• Plant bulbs at the recommended depth and check that your chosen species are appropriate for your local conditions.

The Oxfordshire project demonstrates how carefully chosen plants can support wildlife in both sunny courtyards and shady corners.

3. Build a wildlife shelter from recycled materials

Best for: Gardens, patios and communal outdoor spaces.

Wildlife needs somewhere to shelter, especially as temperatures fall. At Oakwood House, volunteers created a large bug hotel using their gardening skills and recycled materials. You can achieve something similar on a much smaller scale.

What to do this October:

• Gather untreated wood, hollow stems and dry natural materials.

• Create a small, sheltered pile of logs and twigs.

• Leave hollow plant stems standing rather than cutting everything back.

• Place your shelter somewhere relatively dry and protected from disturbance.

For solitary bees, purpose-built nesting tubes need careful design and regular maintenance. A simple log pile or undisturbed patch of vegetation can be an easier starting point. And remember: the best wildlife habitat isn’t always the tidiest. Nature tends to appreciate a little organised chaos.

4. Add a wildlife-friendly water source

Best for: Almost any outdoor space, including balconies.

Birds, insects and small mammals all need access to water, including during autumn and winter. The Oxfordshire community demonstrated a creative solution by transforming an old sink into a wildlife water feature. You don’t need anything quite so ambitious.

What to do this October:

• Place a shallow dish of clean water in a sheltered outdoor location.

• Add a few stones so insects can land and escape safely.

• Refresh the water regularly and clean the container.

• If creating a pond, provide gently sloping edges or secure escape routes for wildlife.

Even a small water source can be a useful addition to a wildlife-friendly space.

5. Turn rewilding into a community activity

Best for: Shared gardens, apartment buildings, schools and neighbourhoods.

Perhaps the most inspiring part of the Faringdon project isn’t just the wildlife gardening. It’s the people involved. Older residents and primary school children worked together to design, plant and improve their communal spaces. The project has helped residents build friendships and establish a gardening group that will continue looking after the space.

How to start something similar:

• Identify an overlooked outdoor area in your neighbourhood.

• Speak with neighbours, residents’ associations or local community groups.

• Start with one manageable activity, such as planting bulbs or creating a wildlife corner.

• Involve children and older residents in planning and planting.

• Agree who will maintain the space and how it will be cared for throughout the year.

Always get permission before making changes to communal or public land.

A small project can create a lasting habitat while bringing neighbours together around something positive.

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How LettsSafari helps you make a bigger difference

At LettsSafari, we believe that bringing nature back shouldn’t be complicated or reserved for people with large gardens and plenty of time. Small actions at home are a great starting point. But we also know that wildlife needs connected habitats and healthy ecosystems beyond our own back gardens. That’s why LettsSafari combines practical advice for everyday rewilding with subscriptions that help fund nature recovery projects in Devon. Our approach makes it easier for people to contribute to rewilding in two complementary ways:

Rewild where you live. Create wildlife-friendly spaces in gardens, balconies and local communities using simple, accessible ideas.

Support wider nature recovery. Become a LettsSafari subscriber and help fund practical rewilding efforts that restore habitats and support biodiversity.

Our subscription model links collective participation to tangible environmental commitments, including tree planting, wildlife support and the ambition to create new nature parks as membership grows. You don’t have to choose between helping wildlife at home and supporting the restoration of larger natural spaces. You can do both.

And sometimes, the biggest change starts in the smallest corner.

An eight-year study by the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme has revealed that many plants commonly dismissed as weeds are among the most attractive to bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other pollinating insects.

The surprising winner? Common ivy.

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According to research reported by The Guardian on 14 October 2026, ivy attracted an average of 22 insect visits during each ten-minute survey, ahead of hogweed, bramble, buddleia and other familiar garden plants.

It’s a useful reminder that what we consider untidy can be incredibly valuable to wildlife. And with October well underway, now is an excellent time to put this knowledge into practice.

Why ordinary garden plants matter for pollinators

Pollinators need reliable sources of nectar and pollen throughout their active seasons. While colourful summer flowers often receive most of our attention, food can become harder to find as temperatures fall.

That’s where some of our most familiar plants come into their own.

Ivy flowers in autumn, providing nectar and pollen when many other plants have stopped flowering. Its berries subsequently feed birds during winter, while its evergreen leaves provide shelter throughout the year.

Bramble produces flowers that attract insects during summer, followed by blackberries that feed birds and mammals. Its dense growth also creates valuable nesting and hiding places.

Thistles and knapweeds provide nectar and pollen for a variety of insects, while their seeds offer food for birds.

Buddleia, often called the butterfly bush, is particularly attractive to butterflies and moths. However, some varieties spread readily, so gardeners should manage self-seeding carefully.

The message is clear: gardens and small urban green spaces can play an important role in supporting pollinator populations.

Five simple ways to rewild your garden this October

The good news is that helping pollinators doesn’t require a large garden, an expensive planting scheme or even much gardening experience.

Here are five practical things you can do this month.

1. Let your ivy flower

If you’ve got ivy growing along a fence, wall or boundary, consider leaving a section untouched. Mature ivy produces small greenish-yellow flowers during autumn, attracting bees, hoverflies, butterflies and other insects. Avoid cutting flowering growth back in October unless it’s causing a problem. If you’re concerned about ivy spreading, keep it under control while allowing some mature stems to flower.

October action: Find one patch of flowering ivy and leave it undisturbed through autumn.

2. Leave a corner a little wild

Rather than tidying every corner of your garden, designate a small area where plants can grow more naturally. Allowing suitable native wildflowers, grasses and existing vegetation to develop can provide food and shelter for insects. You don’t need to abandon your garden. A small, managed wild patch can sit comfortably alongside lawns, flower beds and outdoor seating areas.

October action: Choose one square metre of garden to manage primarily for wildlife rather than appearance.

3. Don’t clear every fallen leaf

Autumn leaves are often treated as garden waste, but they provide shelter for insects and other small creatures during winter. Instead of bagging everything up, collect leaves from lawns and paths and move them into sheltered corners or beneath shrubs. As the leaves break down, they also help improve the soil.

October action: Create a small leaf pile beneath a hedge or shrub, somewhere it won’t blow away or become waterlogged.

4. Leave some seed heads and stems standing

It’s tempting to cut back every fading flower at the end of summer. However, standing stems, seed heads and dried vegetation can provide food and shelter for wildlife during colder months. Some insects spend winter inside hollow plant stems or among dead vegetation, while seed-eating birds benefit from plants left standing.

October action: Leave a selection of healthy perennial stems and seed heads untouched until spring.

5. Think beyond the garden fence

Not everyone has a garden, but almost everyone can find a small opportunity to support urban nature. A balcony planter, window box, shared courtyard or community garden can provide valuable resources for insects. Choose a mixture of wildlife-friendly plants that flower at different times of year, prioritising species suited to your space and local conditions. Even a few containers can contribute to a wider network of urban habitats.

October action: Plan one additional wildlife-friendly container or planting area for next spring.

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Small spaces, bigger impact: How LettsSafari helps

At LettsSafari, we believe that rewilding shouldn’t be limited to large nature reserves or remote landscapes. It can begin in gardens, on balconies and in the overlooked corners of our towns and cities. Our approach combines practical action at home with support for rewilding projects in the British countryside. Through a LettsSafari subscription, individuals can contribute to nature restoration while learning how to make their own outdoor spaces more welcoming to wildlife.

Our subscription model connects collective support to measurable rewilding ambitions:

• Every 10 subscribers support the planting of one tree each year.

• Every 100 subscribers support the introduction of one wild animal.

• Every 10,000 subscribers support the creation of one new wildlife park each year.

These commitments help connect individual participation with larger conservation goals, including our rewilding work in Devon.

The principle is straightforward: small actions become more powerful when people take them together.

As October arrives, most of us start thinking about tidying up the garden. Leaves need raking, plants need cutting back and the lawn gets one final trim before winter.

But what if doing a little less could achieve a whole lot more?

A recent feature in Homes & Gardens tells the story of a garden in South Buckinghamshire transformed by designer Rachel Platt into a thriving haven for wildlife. With a natural swimming pond, wildflower meadow, edible hedgerows and carefully preserved mature planting, the garden now attracts dragonflies, bats, frogs, toads and newts.

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It’s a wonderful example of how an ordinary outdoor space can become somewhere that both people and wildlife can enjoy.

And while most of us won’t be installing a natural swimming pond anytime soon, the principles behind this transformation are surprisingly simple.

At LettsSafari, we believe that smaller-scale rewilding starts at home. Whether you have a large garden, a tiny courtyard or a few pots on a balcony, October offers plenty of opportunities to help nature thrive.

Here are six things you can do this month.

1. Leave the leaves: nature’s winter blanket

One of the easiest things you can do for wildlife this October is to resist the temptation to clear every fallen leaf. Leaves provide natural insulation and shelter for countless creatures, including beetles, spiders, earthworms and overwintering insects. As they break down, they also return nutrients to the soil.

What to do this October:

• Rake leaves off paths and lawns where necessary, but move them beneath shrubs, hedges and trees.

• Create a small leaf pile in a sheltered corner of the garden.

• Leave some fallen leaves on flowerbeds as a natural mulch.

• Avoid disturbing established piles throughout winter.

• If you have a compost heap, add some of your leaves to create nutrient-rich compost for next year’s planting.

LettsSafari tip: Think of fallen leaves as free accommodation for garden wildlife. No booking required, and the guests are remarkably low maintenance.

2. Give your lawn a winter break

The Buckinghamshire garden features a wildflower meadow, demonstrating how allowing grass and wild plants to grow can create valuable wildlife habitat. October is a good time to decide which parts of your lawn really need regular mowing and which could become a little wilder.

Longer grass and standing vegetation offer shelter for insects and small mammals, while native wildflowers can provide food for pollinators during the growing season.

What to do this October:

• Choose a sunny patch of lawn that could become a mini meadow next year.

• Reduce soil fertility if appropriate by removing grass cuttings after mowing.

• For a new meadow area, consider sowing a suitable native wildflower seed mix on properly prepared ground.

• Avoid using fertilisers or weedkillers in areas you’re managing for wildlife.

• Leave established meadow areas with some standing stems and undisturbed patches through winter.

• Autumn can be an excellent time to establish a wildflower meadow, particularly on suitable, low-fertility soil.

However, simply throwing seeds onto an existing dense lawn rarely produces good results. Preparing the ground and choosing species appropriate to your soil are important first steps.

LettsSafari tip: Start with just one square metre. A small, well-managed wildflower patch is better than a large patch that never establishes successfully.

3. Plant a wildlife-friendly hedge

One of the most interesting features of the Buckinghamshire garden is its edible hedgerow, combining attractive planting with natural food sources and shelter. Hedgerows are particularly valuable in urban and suburban areas, where they create connections between otherwise isolated green spaces.

They provide nesting opportunities for birds, food for insects and mammals, and protected routes for wildlife moving between gardens. October is a good month to plan a new hedge and prepare the ground for planting during the dormant season.

What to do this October:

• Identify a suitable boundary where you could replace fencing or ornamental shrubs with native hedging.

• Consider wildlife-friendly species such as hawthorn, hazel, dog rose, field maple and blackthorn where space allows.

• Clear competing weeds and prepare the soil.

• Order bare-root hedging plants for delivery and planting from November onwards, when conditions are suitable.

• Leave enough space for the hedge to grow naturally without obstructing paths or neighbouring properties.

Where appropriate, you can also create a small gap beneath a garden fence to help hedgehogs travel safely between neighbouring gardens.

A 13 cm × 13 cm opening is generally sufficient for a hedgehog.

LettsSafari tip: Speak to your neighbours about connecting gardens. One wildlife-friendly garden is useful, but several connected gardens can become a valuable local wildlife corridor.

4. Create a mini pond before winter

The natural swimming pond is the centrepiece of the Buckinghamshire transformation, providing habitat for amphibians, aquatic insects and other wildlife. Fortunately, you don’t need anything nearly that ambitious to make a difference.

Even a small wildlife pond can support biodiversity by providing water, shelter and breeding opportunities for suitable species.

October can be a good time to install a new pond, provided the ground isn’t frozen or waterlogged, although it may take time for the habitat to establish.

What to do this October:

1. Choose a position with a mix of sunlight and partial shade.

2. Use a pond liner or suitable watertight container.

3. Incorporate gently sloping edges or secure escape routes.

4. Add appropriate native aquatic plants.

5. Allow the pond to fill with rainwater wherever possible.

6. Let wildlife discover the pond naturally.

Avoid introducing fish, as they can prey on amphibian eggs and aquatic invertebrates. If you already have an established pond, October is a useful time to remove excessive fallen leaves and check that plants aren’t completely covering the water. However, avoid major pond clearance during autumn and winter, when amphibians and other wildlife may already be sheltering in or around the pond.

Always put safety first, especially where children or pets have access to the garden.

LettsSafari tip: No room for a pond? A shallow bird bath or water dish with stones for insects to land on is a simpler alternative. Keep it clean and topped up with fresh water.

5. Resist the big autumn cutback

October is traditionally the month when gardeners begin cutting everything back. But those dry stems, fading flowers and seed heads can provide valuable winter habitat. Hollow stems offer shelter for insects, while seed heads provide food for birds such as goldfinches. Dense vegetation can also protect small creatures from cold weather and predators.

The Buckinghamshire garden demonstrates the value of allowing planting to mature naturally rather than continually keeping it under control.

What to do this October:

• Leave seed heads on plants such as teasels, sunflowers and suitable native perennials.

• Keep hollow stems standing where they don’t present a safety problem.

• Avoid cutting back every border at once.

• Leave a few undisturbed patches of vegetation through winter.

• Remove diseased plant material where necessary, and manage invasive species responsibly.

There’s no need to abandon garden maintenance altogether. Simply concentrate on keeping paths and seating areas accessible while allowing wildlife-friendly sections to remain relatively undisturbed.

LettsSafari tip: A winter garden doesn’t have to look messy. Leave architectural seed heads and grasses standing while keeping edges and paths maintained. Wildlife-friendly gardening and attractive design can coexist.

6. Build a winter wildlife refuge

As temperatures begin to fall, many animals are looking for safe places to spend the colder months. Hedgehogs may begin preparing for hibernation, while insects search for protected spaces beneath logs, leaves and vegetation. October is an ideal opportunity to create additional shelter.

What to do this October:

• Stack untreated logs and branches in a quiet, shaded corner.

• Allow leaves to collect around the base of hedges.

• Create a brushwood pile using garden prunings.

• Provide a suitable hedgehog house in a sheltered location if you have space.

• Leave areas undisturbed once wildlife begins using them.

When building a log pile, use fallen or responsibly sourced timber rather than removing healthy trees or damaging existing habitats.

If you discover a hedgehog nesting in your garden, avoid disturbing it. Hedgehogs that appear injured, seriously underweight or active in unusual circumstances may need specialist advice from a wildlife rescue organisation.

LettsSafari tip: Create a small ‘wild corner’ using logs, leaves and branches. It costs almost nothing and can provide valuable shelter throughout winter.

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How LettsSafari helps you make a bigger difference

The Buckinghamshire garden is a beautiful example of what happens when we give nature more room.

But restoring biodiversity isn’t just about creating individual wildlife gardens. It’s also about connecting habitats and supporting restoration beyond our own boundaries. That’s where LettsSafari comes in. LettsSafari helps people contribute to small-scale rewilding through a UK subscription programme supporting nature restoration projects in Devon.

Alongside practical advice for bringing wildlife back into gardens, balconies and neighbourhoods, subscriptions support broader ambitions for habitat creation and wildlife recovery.

Our collective impact model aims to deliver:

• One tree planted each year for every 10 subscribers.

• Support for one wild animal for every 100 subscribers.

• One new rewilding park each year for every 10,000 subscribers.

This October, give nature a little more space

As we head towards winter, it’s easy to think that the gardening season is coming to an end. For wildlife, however, October is a critical month.

The Buckinghamshire garden shows what is possible when nature becomes part of the plan.

This October, try doing one less gardening job and one more thing for wildlife.

Your garden’s smallest residents might thank you for it.

Of that, £53 million will support the planting of up to 500,000 trees outside traditional woodlands including in streets, parks and places close to where people live and work. A further £26 million will support local authorities and mayors delivering Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

It is a sizeable investment, but there is an equally important idea behind it: nature recovery works best when it happens close to home.

And you don’t need a multi-million-pound budget to take part. A garden, balcony, patio, window box or shared community space can all become part of a much larger network of habitats for wildlife.

Here are seven practical ways to start.

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1. Plant a tree. Even if you only have a small garden

The government’s new Community Trees Fund will focus specifically on trees outside woodlands: the trees we encounter in streets, gardens, parks and neighbourhoods. That makes sense. Trees can provide food and shelter for wildlife, capture rainwater, offer shade and help cool urban areas. Government figures accompanying the announcement suggest mature trees can intercept more than 15,000 litres of rainwater each year, while urban trees can also help reduce temperatures during hot weather.

What can you do?

If you have space, consider planting a native or wildlife-friendly tree.

For smaller gardens, look at compact varieties such as crab apple, rowan or hawthorn rather than assuming you need room for an oak tree.

No garden? You may be able to support a local community tree-planting project instead.

2. Turn part of your lawn into a mini meadow

One of the easiest ways to create more habitat is simply to mow less.

Choose a small area of lawn and leave it longer through spring and summer. You can introduce native wildflowers or simply see what appears naturally.

Longer grass provides shelter for insects and creates feeding opportunities for birds and other wildlife.

You don’t have to abandon the whole lawn. A metre-wide strip, an unmown corner or an area around a tree can make a difference.

Think less bowling green, more miniature ecosystem.

3. Create a tiny source of water

Wetlands are another important part of local nature recovery strategies because they can support biodiversity while also helping landscapes hold water.

You can recreate the same principle on a tiny scale.

A garden pond does not need to be large. Even a watertight container sunk into the ground can provide drinking and bathing opportunities for insects, birds and other wildlife.

Add stones or branches so creatures can get in and out safely, and allow native aquatic plants to establish.

Avoid introducing fish into a wildlife pond — they can eat many of the insects and larvae you are trying to encourage.

4. Build a wildlife corridor

One isolated wildlife-friendly garden is useful.

A street full of them is much better.

Animals need to move between habitats to find food, shelter and mates, so one of the most valuable things neighbours can do is make their gardens more connected.

That might mean creating a small gap at the bottom of a fence for hedgehogs, growing climbing plants along boundaries or planting hedges rather than installing solid fencing.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies are designed around a similar principle: joining individual areas together so nature recovery isn’t restricted to isolated pockets.

Your garden can be part of exactly the same idea.

5. Replace ornamental planting with something wildlife can use

You don’t have to turn your garden into wilderness.

Instead, look at what you already grow and gradually introduce more plants that provide pollen, nectar, berries, seeds or shelter.

Good options include plants such as:

• lavender

• foxglove

• thyme

• honeysuckle

• ivy

• hawthorn

• crab apple

A mixture of plants flowering at different times of year can help provide food for pollinators across a longer season.

And don’t be too quick to remove ivy. Mature ivy can be an exceptionally valuable source of late-season nectar and winter berries.

6. Leave some things untidy

Nature is not particularly interested in garden design awards.

Dead wood, fallen leaves, hollow stems and slightly overgrown corners can provide habitat for insects, fungi and small animals.

Try leaving a small pile of logs somewhere sheltered.

Allow fallen leaves to remain beneath shrubs.

Leave some plant stems standing through winter rather than cutting everything back immediately.

Sometimes rewilding is less about doing more and more about stopping doing quite so much.

7. Think beyond your own garden

The government’s funding announcement puts communities at the centre of nature restoration. You can do the same.

Talk to neighbours about creating connected wildlife-friendly gardens. Get involved with a local Friends of the Park group. Volunteer for tree planting or river restoration. Suggest pollinator planting on communal land.

England is now divided into 48 Local Nature Recovery Strategy areas, designed to identify where action can have the greatest environmental benefit.

Finding out what is happening in your own area is a good place to start.

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How does LettsSafari fit in?

At LettsSafari, we believe rewilding doesn’t have to mean buying hundreds of acres and releasing wolves. It can mean giving nature a little more space wherever you live. LettsSafari helps people take part in nature recovery in two ways.

First, we support our own smaller-scale rewilding projects in the UK, helping turn subscriptions into practical action for nature.

Second, we encourage people to rewild the spaces around them - gardens, balconies and neighbourhoods — with simple ideas anyone can try.

The government’s £79 million investment demonstrates what can happen at national and local-authority level.

LettsSafari is about the other end of the equation:

What can each of us do ourselves?

A tree here.
A pond there.
A patch of long grass.
A few more flowers.
A gap beneath a fence.

Individually, they are small changes.

Connect enough of them together and you begin to create something much bigger.

But one small project in the Tamar Valley demonstrates something much more useful. At Larkrise, near St Dominic, around 10 acres of previously poorly drained land have been allowed to become wilder. Less than seven years after the project began, the site now contains thriving native plants, young trees, ponds, hedgerows and a growing collection of wildlife.

Foxes, roe deer, barn owls, moorhens, weasels, voles and shrews have all been recorded there. Swallows skim across the ponds, goldfinches feed among the plants and butterflies move through areas that were once much less diverse.

What did Larkrise actually do?

One of the useful things about the Larkrise story is that the changes aren’t particularly complicated.

The project has combined several relatively straightforward approaches:

• allowing native grasses and plants to establish

• protecting naturally regenerating trees

• strengthening and retaining hedgerows

• digging ponds

• introducing appropriate indigenous plants, seeds and cuttings

• reducing the pressure from grazing

• leaving space for natural processes to take over.

None of these actions is especially dramatic in isolation. Together, however, they create something wildlife desperately needs: a mixture of habitats.

Water attracts one group of species. Native plants attract another. Trees provide shelter, food and nesting opportunities. Hedgerows become wildlife corridors. Areas of longer vegetation give small mammals and insects places to live.

Instead of thinking about rewilding as one big project, it is often more helpful to think of it as creating lots of small opportunities for nature.

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How can you apply the same idea at home?

You probably don’t have 10 acres. Fortunately, you don’t need them. The principles visible at Larkrise can be scaled down to a garden, courtyard, community space, school grounds or even a collection of pots on a balcony.

1. Create some water

A pond is one of the most effective ways to increase the variety of wildlife using a garden.

And it doesn’t have to be large.

A small container pond can provide drinking water and habitat for insects, while a larger wildlife pond may attract frogs, newts, dragonflies and birds.

If you create one, make sure wildlife can get in and out easily and avoid adding chemicals.

2. Let something grow

One of the easiest rewilding techniques is also one of the cheapest: stop cutting everything.

Leave a section of lawn longer. Allow some plants to flower and seed. Leave a few stems standing through winter.

These slightly untidier areas can provide food and shelter for insects, which in turn support birds and other wildlife.

You don’t have to abandon the whole garden. Even a small wild corner can help.

3. Choose native plants

Native flowers, shrubs and trees have developed alongside UK wildlife and can provide valuable sources of food and shelter.

Depending on the space available, consider plants that produce:

• nectar for pollinators

• berries for birds

• seeds for birds and small mammals

• dense vegetation for shelter.

Even several carefully chosen pots can create a miniature feeding station.

4. Keep your hedges

A hedge isn’t simply a boundary.

It can be a miniature ecosystem.

Hedges provide nesting places, berries, insects, shelter and routes that wildlife can use to move between habitats.

If you already have one, consider allowing it to become slightly thicker and less manicured. Where space allows, planting a mixture of native hedge species can create even more variety.

5. Protect natural regeneration

At Larkrise, naturally occurring young oak trees were protected rather than simply planting everything from scratch.

You can use the same principle at home.

Before removing a seedling or an unexpected plant, find out what it is. Sometimes nature has already started doing the planting for you.

The most sustainable plant may be the one that’s already growing.

6. Reduce disturbance

Rewilding isn’t always about adding things.

Sometimes it means doing less.

Reduce pesticide use. Leave fallen leaves beneath shrubs. Keep some dead wood. Avoid constantly disturbing every corner of the garden.

Small areas that humans largely leave alone can become valuable refuges.

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Think in habitats, not individual species

It’s tempting to approach wildlife gardening by deciding you want more bees, butterflies, hedgehogs or birds.

A better starting point is often:

What habitats can I create?

Build the habitat and wildlife has a reason to arrive.

A useful small-scale rewilding checklist might be:

Water + native plants + shelter + food + somewhere undisturbed.

You don’t need all five immediately. Start with one and build from there.

Five things you can do this weekend

If you want to put the Larkrise lesson into practice straight away:

1. Leave one patch unmown.

2. Add a small source of water.

3. Plant one native or wildlife-friendly plant.

4. Create a sheltered corner using leaves, logs or vegetation.

5. Spend ten minutes watching what wildlife is already there.

That final step matters. Rewilding isn’t only about changing the landscape. It’s also about noticing the nature that is already returning.

That is one of the most useful lessons from Pear Tree Park in Ealing, West London, where a former golf course is being transformed into a more varied urban landscape of wildflower meadows, native trees and wetlands. More than 5,000 trees have already been planted, while volunteers are also helping restore the nearby River Brent by removing invasive plants and replacing them with native wetland species.

The scale may be bigger than the average garden, but the principles are surprisingly easy to borrow. Here are five ways to apply the same thinking at home.

1. Replace some lawn with longer grass

One of the simplest things you can do is mow less. A closely cut lawn offers relatively little shelter or food for wildlife. Leaving even a small section longer creates habitat for insects and allows more plants to flower.

You do not need to abandon the whole garden! Try:

• leaving a strip along a fence or hedge unmown

• creating a circular “mini meadow” in the lawn

• mowing paths through longer grass so the garden still looks intentional

• reducing mowing frequency rather than stopping completely

The objective is variety. Different grass heights create different habitats.

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2. Plant more native species

Pear Tree Park combines native trees with wildflower areas and wetland planting. You can copy that approach on a much smaller scale. Native plants have evolved alongside UK wildlife and can provide food and shelter for insects, birds and other animals. Depending on your space, consider native species such as:

• foxglove

• oxeye daisy

• red campion

• wild marjoram

• hawthorn

• rowan

• hazel

Even a few pots planted with wildlife-friendly species can help. The important thing is not to create a perfect “wild garden”. It is to increase the number and variety of plants available to wildlife.

3. Add water

One of Pear Tree Park’s strengths is its mix of habitats, including wetlands. Water can dramatically increase the number of species visiting even a small garden, and you do not necessarily need a large pond. A mini pond can be made using a watertight container sunk into the ground or placed on a patio.

Add:

• rainwater where possible

• aquatic plants

• stones or logs so wildlife can get in and out safely

• different depths if your container allows it

Avoid adding fish, which can eat insect larvae and other small pond wildlife. Even a container pond can attract insects, birds and amphibians.

4. Create layers, not just plants

Successful habitats are rarely flat. Woodland, meadow and wetland environments all contain different layers where wildlife can feed, hide and reproduce. You can recreate that structure in a garden by combining:

• trees

• shrubs

• flowers

• grasses

• ground cover

• dead wood

• leaf litter

A small pile of logs in a quiet corner can provide shelter for insects and fungi. Leaving some fallen leaves beneath shrubs rather than clearing everything away can create another valuable microhabitat. Rewilding is often as much about what you stop removing as what you start planting.

5. Connect your patch to the wider landscape

Perhaps the biggest idea behind Pear Tree Park is connectivity. The park forms part of plans for a wider West London Regional Park, designed to connect green and blue spaces across the area. Wildlife benefits when habitats are connected rather than isolated. Your garden can become part of the same idea.

Simple actions include:

• creating gaps beneath fences for hedgehogs

• growing climbing plants along walls and fences

• planting hedges instead of relying entirely on solid fencing

• talking to neighbours about creating connected wildlife areas

• planting flowers that provide nectar across different seasons

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How LettsSafari helps

LettsSafari is built around the idea that nature recovery can happen at both ends of the scale. Subscribers help fund practical rewilding projects in the UK while also receiving ideas and inspiration for bringing more wildlife into their own gardens, balconies and neighbourhoods.

Small actions at home complement larger habitat restoration projects. You do not need to own a woodland - you just need to make your patch slightly better for nature than it was yesterday.

And if thousands of people do the same thing, those small patches begin to connect.

When people hear the word rewilding, they often imagine huge estates, forests and vast areas of countryside.

But rewilding doesn’t have to happen on a massive scale.

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Our new e-book, The Definitive Guide to Smaller-Scale Rewilding, looks at how gardens, parks, farms, community spaces and other smaller areas can all play a part in nature recovery.

We’ve created the guide to make rewilding feel more practical and accessible. You don’t need hundreds of acres or specialist knowledge to start creating better habitats for wildlife. Sometimes, it can be as simple as leaving an area of grass unmown, planting native wildflowers or creating a small pond.

Why we made it

After years of working on our own rewilding projects, we wanted to bring together what we’ve learned and make it useful to people who want to do something themselves.

Smaller-scale rewilding can look different everywhere. It might be a community garden, a section of a park, a wildlife-friendly garden or a small piece of farmland.

A sneak peek

One of the sections of the guide looks at creating microhabitats.

A successful rewilding space doesn’t need to be one single type of habitat. Even on a small plot, creating a mix of grassland, scrub, woodland and water can provide different resources for different species.

For example, a small patch of wild grassland can become a mini meadow, providing food and shelter for insects and other wildlife. In some cases, simply reducing how often you mow an existing lawn can allow wildflowers and other plants to appear naturally.

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It’s one of the ideas we explore throughout the guide: you don’t always need to add more to a space. Sometimes, giving nature a little more room to do its own thing is enough.

The Definitive Guide to Smaller-Scale Rewilding is available now on e-book for only £9.99!

Keep an eye out for the hardcover coming soon!

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And sometimes it begins in a garden shed.

Glowworms have returned to Nosterfield Nature Reserve in North Yorkshire for the first time in more than 100 years, following a remarkably low-budget conservation project involving an ecologist, volunteers and hundreds of tiny glowworm larvae.

Independent ecologist Pete Cooper and volunteer “glow-getters” bred glowworms in captivity before releasing larvae at Nosterfield in 2024. Because glowworms take around two years to mature, the team had a long wait before discovering whether the experiment had worked.

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This summer, volunteers recorded up to 12 glowing female glowworms over several weeks - the first encouraging evidence that the insects can once again complete their lifecycle at the reserve.

It’s a wonderful conservation story. But it also contains some useful lessons for anyone interested in rewilding a garden, neighbourhood or small patch of land.

First, create the habitat. Then let wildlife find it

One of the most important parts of the Nosterfield story actually happened long before the glowworms arrived. The reserve occupies former quarry land. Since 1997, the Lower Ure Conservation Trust has gradually transformed parts of the site into species-rich grassland and wetland habitat.

Wildlife followed.

Bitterns and marsh harriers now use the site, and the restored habitat eventually became suitable enough for conservationists to attempt the return of glowworms. There’s a useful principle here for small-scale rewilding:

Don’t start by asking which animal you want to attract. Start by asking what habitat you can create.

Food, shelter, water and places to reproduce are what bring wildlife back.

1. Leave part of your garden untidy

Glowworms are one of many species affected by our enthusiasm for neatness. Short grass, cleared leaves, clipped edges and constantly disturbed soil might look tidy to us, but they remove hiding places and food sources for insects and other wildlife. Try leaving one area largely alone.

That might mean:

• letting grass grow longer

• leaving fallen leaves beneath shrubs

• allowing dead stems to remain through winter

• creating a small pile of logs or branches

• reducing how often you cut vegetation

You don’t need to turn the entire garden into wilderness. Even one less-managed corner gives nature somewhere to operate on its own terms.

2. Turn down the lights

There is another particularly relevant lesson from glowworms: darkness is habitat too.

Female glowworms use bioluminescence to attract males. Artificial lighting can interfere with that signalling, and increased night-time illumination is one factor associated with their decline. Making your garden more wildlife-friendly can therefore be as simple as switching something off. Try turning off unnecessary garden lighting overnight, using motion sensors rather than permanent illumination and avoiding bright lights around hedges, trees and areas of long grass. Your electricity bill may appreciate this particular rewilding project too!

3. Grow a variety of plants

Nature likes variety. Different heights, flowers, grasses, shrubs and groundcover create different microhabitats. Instead of designing every part of a garden around a single lawn or planting style, aim for layers. You could combine longer grass with flowering plants, shrubs, climbers and a small tree. Native plants can be particularly valuable because they have evolved alongside local insects and other wildlife. More plant diversity usually means more opportunities for wildlife.

4. Reduce chemicals

Glowworm larvae feed on snails and slugs. That is a useful reminder that species we sometimes regard as garden pests are actually part of much larger food webs. Slug pellets, pesticides and herbicides can affect far more than their intended targets. Where possible, allow natural predators to do some of the work instead. Beetles, birds, frogs, hedgehogs and other species all help regulate populations naturally. A slightly nibbled leaf may simply be evidence that your garden ecosystem is working.

5. Add water

One of the most effective things you can do for wildlife is also one of the simplest: provide water. And of course with an unusuallly hot Summer behind us, we have the space to revisit this. A pond can support insects, amphibians and birds, but it doesn’t need to be large. A container pond, shallow basin or buried tub can create valuable habitat surprisingly quickly. Make sure animals have an easy way in and out, and avoid introducing fish if wildlife is your priority.

6. Think in years, not weekends

Perhaps the most important lesson from Nosterfield is patience. Glowworm larvae were first released in 2024. The conservationists behind the project had to wait two years before seeing glowing adults. And even now, they won’t know whether a genuinely self-sustaining population has been created until later generations mature. Rewilding works on nature’s timetable. Plant a hedge today and birds may use it for decades. Dig a pond and dragonflies might discover it within weeks. Leave grass long and wildflowers may gradually emerge over several seasons. The important thing is to start.

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How LettsSafari helps

We believe rewilding should be something ordinary people can participate in, even if they don’t own acres of countryside. LettsSafari subscriptions help fund practical rewilding projects while also helping people discover simple ways to make more space for nature at home. Our model turns lots of small contributions into measurable action: as the community grows, subscriptions help fund trees, wildlife restoration and ultimately new areas of rewilded land. The return of Nosterfield’s glowworms shows what can happen when people give nature the right conditions - and then give it time. You don’t need a conservation degree. You don’t even necessarily need a garden shed full of glowworms. You just need to start making a little more room for the wild.

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What is the Sussex Bay rewilding project?

Sussex Bay is a collaborative nature recovery initiative aiming to improve approximately 100 miles of marine environment along the Sussex coastline. The waters are home to species including dolphins, porpoises, seahorses, rays, seals and kelp. Rather than concentrating on one species or habitat, the project takes a much broader approach. It considers how kelp forests, oyster reefs, saltmarshes, rivers, coastal habitats and inland landscapes interact with one another, and how the people living alongside them can become part of their recovery.

The project has already supported initiatives including oyster restoration, citizen-science research, marine wildlife monitoring and work to improve understanding of the local marine environment. But perhaps the most important idea behind Sussex Bay is connectivity.

A healthy kelp forest, for example, is more resilient if surrounding habitats are healthy too. Saltmarsh can help filter pollution. Oyster reefs can improve water quality. Rivers connect inland landscapes with the sea. Strengthening one part of the system can therefore help another. The same principle applies much closer to home.

Your garden isn’t an island

It is tempting to think of rewilding a garden as creating one particularly wildlife-friendly space.

Plant some wildflowers - Put up a bird box - Build a small pond - Leave part of the lawn unmown.

All of these are useful but their impact becomes much greater when we start thinking about how wildlife moves between spaces. Your garden might connect a nearby park with another garden:

• A hedge might provide a route for hedgehogs.

• A row of flowering plants could become one small feeding station in a much larger network used by bees and butterflies.

• A tree could provide shelter between two larger areas of habitat.

• Even a balcony covered with nectar-rich plants can become a small stepping stone for pollinating insects moving through a city.

The goal isn’t necessarily to create a complete ecosystem in your own garden.

It is to make your patch part of a bigger one.

Five ways to create a wildlife stepping stone at home

1. Plant for movement as well as appearance

Think about where wildlife might enter and leave your garden. Planting along fences, walls and boundaries can create continuous vegetation rather than isolated flower beds. Climbers, shrubs, native flowers and grasses can create useful cover and feeding opportunities. If several neighbouring gardens do something similar, the result can become a genuine wildlife corridor.

2. Make your boundaries permeable

Solid fences can be surprisingly difficult for wildlife. Hedgehogs in particular need to travel significant distances while searching for food and mates. Creating a small opening at ground level between neighbouring gardens can help transform several individual gardens into one much larger habitat network. Better still, coordinate with neighbours so several gardens become connected.

3. Create several layers of habitat

Natural habitats rarely consist of plants at one height. Try combining:

• ground-covering plants

• wildflowers and grasses

• shrubs

• climbers

• trees where space allows

Different species use different parts of this structure. A layered garden therefore offers more opportunities for feeding, nesting, shelter and movement.

4. Add water

One of the most effective things you can do for wildlife is provide water. It doesn’t have to be a large pond. A small container pond can support insects and other wildlife, while birds and mammals may use it for drinking. Make sure wildlife has an easy way in and out, using stones, gravel or gently sloping edges. Avoid introducing fish into wildlife ponds because they can eat aquatic insects and larvae.

5. Talk to your neighbours

This may be the most important lesson from Sussex Bay. Nature recovery becomes easier when people collaborate. Imagine ten neighbouring gardens each creating a small patch of pollinator-friendly planting, or several households making fence openings for hedgehogs, or a street deciding to plant native flowers around tree pits.

Individually, each action is small. Together, they create habitat.

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Think beyond the garden

Urban rewilding can extend far beyond private gardens. Small areas around:

• apartment blocks

• schools

• offices

• community centres

• churchyards

• car parks

• roadside verges

...can all become useful wildlife habitat.

Even spaces that appear insignificant to us may be valuable stepping stones for wildlife moving across increasingly fragmented landscapes.

How LettsSafari helps

LettsSafari was created around exactly this principle: many people taking practical action can collectively create meaningful space for nature. Through LettsSafari, members can support rewilding projects while also learning how to encourage wildlife closer to home. It turns rewilding from something that can feel distant or enormous into something people can participate in. You might start with a window box. Someone else might rewild part of their lawn. Another person might create a pond. Elsewhere, larger areas of land can be allowed to recover.

Connect enough of those actions and something important starts to happen: nature gets more room to move, and more room to return.

Ecologists forecast the work could increase biodiversity on the site by approximately 90%. The scale may be bigger than the average garden, business park or community space, but the principles behind it can be applied almost anywhere. And that is where smaller-scale rewilding gets interesting.

The lesson from Lancaster: make every piece of land work harder for nature

The Burrow Beck project demonstrates that we do not necessarily have to choose between land being useful for people and useful for wildlife. The same land can produce renewable electricity while also providing food, shelter and habitat for wildlife. That principle translates remarkably well to smaller spaces:

• A garden can still be somewhere to sit and entertain while containing native flowers.

• An office development can still have landscaped grounds while providing hedges, trees and nesting habitat.

• A balcony can still look attractive while supplying nectar for pollinators.

• A school field, verge, courtyard or communal garden can perform its original purpose while doing considerably more for biodiversity.

The goal isn’t necessarily to abandon a space to nature.

It is to increase the amount of nature that the space can support.

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How to rewild a small space: five practical ideas

1. Replace some grass with flowers

One of the simplest changes is reducing the amount of frequently mown grass. Instead, allow a section to grow longer or introduce native wildflowers. Longer grass and flowering plants can provide food and shelter for insects, which in turn support birds and other wildlife. You don’t have to turn the whole garden into a meadow. Start with a strip along a fence, a corner of the lawn or even a large container.

Think less mowing, more flowering.

2. Create layers of habitat

Burrow Beck combines several different habitat types rather than relying on one intervention and you can apply the same principle at home. Try combining:

• flowering plants

• shrubs

• a small native tree

• longer grass

• dead wood

• climbing plants

• a small pond or water source

• Different species need different things.

A garden containing several layers of vegetation is generally more valuable to wildlife than a garden consisting almost entirely of lawn - even a small space can contain surprising complexity.

3. Add water

Water can be one of the most valuable additions to a wildlife-friendly space. And you don’t need a large pond. A container pond made from a half barrel, washing-up bowl or other watertight container can provide habitat for insects and drinking water for birds and other wildlife. Allow plants to grow around the edges and provide an easy escape route for anything that falls in. Small interventions can create disproportionately useful habitats.

4. Connect your patch to the neighbourhood

Wildlife doesn’t recognise property boundaries. That means your garden becomes more useful when it connects with other green spaces nearby.

• Hedges rather than solid fences can create wildlife corridors.

• Small gaps beneath fences can help species such as hedgehogs travel between gardens.

• Climbing plants can provide vertical habitat where ground space is limited.

• Street trees, gardens, allotments, balconies and parks can collectively form a network.

One garden might be small but a neighbourhood full of wildlife-friendly gardens is something much bigger.

5. Manage less

Sometimes rewilding is as much about what you stop doing as what you add:

• Leave seed heads through winter.

• Allow leaves to gather beneath shrubs.

• Keep some dead wood.

• Avoid unnecessary pesticides.

• Let some grass grow longer.

• Allow a few plants to seed naturally.

A perfectly tidy garden often removes exactly the materials that insects, birds and other animals need. Giving nature slightly more freedom can have a surprisingly large effect.

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Start with the lowest-diversity part of your space

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Burrow Beck is where the project started. The council describes the original agricultural land as species-poor. That gives us another useful rewilding rule: don’t necessarily start with the wildest part of your garden. Start with the least wild.

Look around your space:

• Is there a bare fence?

• A permanently short lawn?

• A paved corner?

• An unused planter?

• A sterile area of gravel?

• A wall with nothing growing against it?

• These are opportunities.

You are looking for places where a relatively small intervention could create a large ecological improvement.

Where LettsSafari fits in

At LettsSafari, we believe rewilding should be something people can participate in rather than simply something they read about. You don’t need to own a large estate nor do you need to become a conservation expert.

And you don’t need to transform your entire garden overnight.

LettsSafari helps people take part in nature recovery in two complementary ways. First, our subscriptions help support our practical smaller-scale rewilding projects in the UK. Second, we help our community discover straightforward ways to make their own gardens, balconies and neighbourhood spaces more welcoming to wildlife.

The two ideas reinforce each other.

Your small-space rewilding checklist

If you want to begin this week, try just one of these:

• Leave a section of grass unmown

• Sow native wildflowers

• Plant a wildlife-friendly shrub

• Add a container pond

• Create a gap for hedgehogs

• Leave some fallen leaves beneath shrubs

• Put away pesticides

• Add a climbing plant to a bare wall or fence

• Leave seed heads standing over winter

Don’t worry about doing everything.

Choose one patch. Make it slightly wilder. Then see what turns up.

Sayer’s Old Meadow in North Norfolk, a former arable field has transformed into a flourishing wildflower meadow. More than 150 plant species have now been recorded on the site, which was previously used for intensive agriculture. The meadow also supports butterflies, hoverflies and birds. Rather than being replanted with a commercial wildflower seed mix, the land was largely allowed to regenerate naturally.

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The approach has been surprisingly straightforward: allow the vegetation to grow, cut the meadow for hay annually and remove the cuttings. Research from University College London found that plant diversity increased steadily during the study period. The average number of species recorded in individual survey plots roughly doubled between 2011 and 2022, with species including yellow rattle and southern marsh orchid appearing naturally.

It is an impressive ecological success story. But what can the rest of us learn from it?

You don’t need a field in Norfolk to experiment with the idea.

1. Stop mowing part of your lawn

Choose a section of lawn and simply allow the grass to grow. It doesn’t need to be the entire garden. A strip along a fence, an area beneath a tree or even a small corner can provide additional habitat. Watch what happens before deciding whether you need to plant anything. Existing plants may flower. New species may arrive. Longer grass can provide shelter for insects and other wildlife. The important thing is to give the space time.

2. Remove the cuttings

One of the important lessons from Sayer’s Old Meadow is the role of traditional hay management. At the Norfolk site, the meadow is cut and the hay removed. Why does this matter? Removing cut vegetation gradually removes nutrients from the soil. Extremely fertile soil tends to favour vigorous grasses and a relatively small number of dominant plants. Lower nutrient levels can create opportunities for a wider variety of meadow species. So if you’re trying to establish a meadow area at home, don’t simply leave cut grass lying where it falls.

3. Don’t judge your experiment after one summer

Rewilding operates on nature’s timetable rather than ours. Sayer’s Meadow developed over many years. The UCL research followed vegetation changes from 2011 to 2022 and found species richness continuing to increase over that period. Your garden isn’t likely to produce thousands of orchids next spring. Instead, look for incremental changes:

• Are more plants flowering?

• Are you seeing more bees or butterflies?

• Are birds spending more time in the garden?

• Are different plants beginning to appear?

• Are there more insects among the longer vegetation?

• Treat the garden as an experiment rather than a finished landscaping project.

4. Let plants arrive before deciding what is missing

Wildflower seed mixes can be useful, particularly where natural regeneration is unlikely. But don’t automatically assume you need one. Seeds can arrive through wind, birds, mammals and other natural processes. Researchers studying Sayer’s Meadow believe animals such as deer may even have helped some plants colonise the site. In a garden, your equivalent seed distributors might be birds, squirrels - or simply the wind. Give natural regeneration a chance first then intervene selectively if the results need a helping hand.

5. Create different levels of wildness

Rewilding doesn’t have to mean abandoning an entire garden. Try creating a patchwork. You might have:

A frequently used area - keep paths, seating areas and spaces used by children or pets relatively managed.

A lightly managed area - mow this less frequently and allow flowers such as clover and daisies to bloom.

A wild area - allow grasses and other vegetation to grow for much longer before cutting.

This creates different habitats within even a small space. It also makes rewilding much easier to live with.

6. Observe before you interfere

Perhaps the most interesting habit to borrow from the Norfolk experiment is simply watching what happens. Take photographs of your wild patch once a month. Make a note of plants you recognise. Record butterflies, bees and birds.

You’ll gradually build a picture of how your small ecosystem is changing. You could even use citizen-science apps to identify species and contribute observations to biodiversity records. Suddenly, the neglected corner of the garden isn’t neglected at all. It’s a tiny ecological experiment.

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Small spaces add up

Britain has lost the overwhelming majority of its species-rich traditional meadows over the past century. The remaining fragments are therefore enormously important for plants, pollinators and other wildlife. We can’t recreate those landscapes overnight.

But we can create more places where nature has room to operate.

Gardens.

Balconies.

Community spaces.

School grounds.

Roadside verges.

Business premises.

Even a few square metres can become another stepping stone connecting wildlife through an increasingly fragmented landscape.

That’s where the thinking behind LettsSafari comes in.

LettsSafari is built around the idea that rewilding shouldn’t be something only governments, conservation organisations or large landowners can participate in.

You can make changes in your own space while also supporting wider small-scale rewilding projects.

It turns rewilding from something you simply read about into something you can actually participate in.

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A recent Guardian article highlighted the idea of creating mounds in gardens using existing soil, rubble, branches and organic material, drawing inspiration from our good friends at Knepp in West Sussex. At Knepp, material that could have been removed as waste was instead reused to form an undulating dry garden, providing planting opportunities and habitat for insects.

It’s a simple idea with an important principle behind it: the more varied the habitat, the more opportunities you can create for nature.

And it’s something you can try in even a relatively small urban garden.

Why a Flat Garden Isn’t Always Best for Wildlife

Most conventional gardens are designed around flat lawns, straight borders and clearly defined spaces.

Wild landscapes rarely look like that - they contain slopes, banks, fallen branches, bare ground, sheltered hollows, exposed sunny areas and countless small variations in height, moisture and temperature.

These variations create microhabitats - small areas offering slightly different conditions for plants, insects and other wildlife. Introducing even a small mound can therefore increase the variety within your garden.

How to Create a Wildlife-Friendly Garden Mound

You don’t need to undertake major landscaping. Start with materials you already have.

1. Save surplus soil

If you’re digging a pond, installing a path or creating new planting areas, don’t automatically dispose of the soil. Consider using it elsewhere in the garden to create gentle mounds or raised planting areas. Rather than sending excavated soil away in a skip, it can become part of the garden itself.

2. Add logs and branches

Dead wood is one of the most useful materials in a wildlife garden. Instead of cutting branches into small pieces and removing them, place some underneath your mound. As the wood gradually decomposes, it helps create a richer structure beneath the soil.

This approach is similar to “hugelkultur“, a long-established gardening technique in which mounds are created using decaying wood, branches and other organic material covered with soil.

3. Use turf rather than throwing it away

If you’re removing sections of lawn, turn the turf upside down and incorporate it into your mound. The grass will break down over time and return organic material to the soil. It is another example of a useful rule for wildlife gardening:

Before taking something out of your garden, ask whether nature could use it somewhere else.

4. Create different aspects

Even a mound less than a metre high can create different conditions. One side might receive full sun. Another could remain cooler and shaded. The top may drain quickly while the bottom retains more moisture. These differences give you opportunities to grow a wider mixture of plants.

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Plant Your Mound for Wildlife

Once your mound is established, avoid treating it as another conventional flower bed. Think about layers.

You could combine:

• ground-cover plants

• grasses

• wildflowers

• flowering perennials

• small shrubs

• herbs

• climbing or trailing plants

Aim to provide different heights, shapes and flowering periods. Use repetition alongside different heights, colours and textures when planting a mound. From a wildlife perspective, variety can also extend the amount of time your garden provides useful food and shelter.

Don’t Make Everything Too Tidy

A wildlife-friendly mound doesn’t need to look abandoned but it doesn’t need to look immaculate either. Allow some leaves to remain, leave occasional stems standing, keep pieces of exposed wood or let plants seed naturally in places.

A small amount of disorder can provide valuable hiding places and overwintering habitat. The aim isn’t to stop gardening. It is to garden with wildlife in mind.

Connect Your Mound to Other Mini Habitats

The real opportunity comes when your mound becomes part of a larger network. Alongside it, consider adding:

A small pond or water container: Even a tiny source of water can add another type of habitat.

A log pile: Stack branches or pieces of untreated timber somewhere sheltered.

A patch of longer grass: Rather than mowing everything at the same height, allow one area to grow.

Pollinator-friendly planting: Choose plants that provide pollen and nectar through as much of the year as possible.

Dense shrubs: Shrubs can provide shelter and potential nesting habitat while creating another layer of vegetation.

You don’t need all of them. Adding one new habitat at a time gradually makes your garden more varied.

Rewilding Is About Variety, Not Size

This is perhaps the most useful lesson from the story.

The inspiration may come from Knepp - one of Britain’s best-known rewilding projects - but the same principle can be applied in a long, narrow urban garden. You don’t have to recreate a giant nature reserve, uou simply create more opportunities for nature within the space you already have.

Where LettsSafari Fits In

LettsSafari is built around the idea that people shouldn’t need to own large areas of countryside to participate in rewilding. You can start where you are.

Through LettsSafari, subscribers can learn practical ways to encourage nature back into gardens, balconies and other small spaces while also contributing to wider rewilding activity.

That creates two complementary forms of action:

Rewild at home.
Make small changes that create more space for wildlife around you.

Support rewilding elsewhere.
Help fund larger-scale nature restoration beyond your own garden.

The goal isn’t to turn every garden into wilderness overnight.

It’s to help thousands of people make one achievable change — and then another.

Five Small Rewilding Actions to Try This Weekend

If creating a mound sounds interesting, start small.

1. Leave one pile of logs or branches somewhere sheltered.

2. Allow one patch of grass to grow longer.

3. Turn an unused container into a miniature wildlife pond.

4. Create a small mound from spare soil, turf or organic material.

5. Plant one additional wildlife-friendly plant.

The best small-scale rewilding projects often begin with something surprisingly simple. Sometimes even a pile of earth can become habitat.

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In late July 2026, fire swept across more than 112 hectares of Dunwich Heath on the Suffolk coast, damaging one of Britain’s most important areas of lowland heath.

The reserve provides habitat for wildlife including nightjars, Dartford warblers, adders and specialist invertebrates. Conservationists have warned that some species have lost crucial habitat and that the effects on less mobile wildlife may be particularly severe.

The fire has also prompted a wider conversation about how we manage land as Britain’s summers become hotter and drier.

And one of the answers may lie in creating more varied, nature-rich landscapes.

How can rewilding reduce wildfire risk?

Rewilding doesn’t mean simply abandoning land.

At Dunwich Heath, the National Trust and RSPB already actively manage vegetation, remove material, maintain firebreaks and encourage different ages of heather. According to the National Trust, having vegetation of different ages can also help retain more moisture in the ground.

But conservationists are also looking at how nature itself can help make larger landscapes more resilient.

Possible approaches include:

• restoring wetlands that can create natural breaks in dry landscapes;

• using grazing animals to reduce accumulated dry vegetation;

• maintaining ponds and wetter areas;

• creating a mixture of woodland, scrub, grassland and open habitat;

• connecting habitats so wildlife has more places to move when conditions change.

At Dunwich, neighbouring wetlands helped limit the fire’s spread in some areas. Conservationists interviewed after the fire also pointed to beavers, winter grazing and more varied habitat mosaics as potential tools for making suitable landscapes more resilient.

The principle is bigger than wildfire.

Natural England argues that larger, better-connected and healthier natural areas give wildlife a better chance of surviving periods of extreme weather. The government’s Land Use Framework also identifies restoring wetlands and other nature-based solutions as part of improving resilience to climate impacts, including wildfire.

What does this have to do with your garden?

Quite a lot.

You probably aren’t going to introduce a herd of grazing animals or a family of beavers to your back garden.

But the underlying idea scales down surprisingly well: diversity creates resilience.

A garden made up almost entirely of paving and a closely cut lawn provides relatively few habitats. Introduce trees, shrubs, longer grass, flowers, water, dead wood and areas of shade and suddenly you have a much richer ecosystem. Different species can find food, shelter and cooler conditions in different places. And when thousands of gardens do this together, individual pockets of habitat begin to form something much more interesting: a network of urban nature.

Here are five ways to start.

1. Add water

Water is one of the quickest ways to increase the variety of wildlife visiting a garden. A small wildlife pond, sunken container or other safe source of water can provide drinking and bathing opportunities while creating habitat for insects and amphibians. Make sure wildlife has an easy way in and out, and avoid introducing fish if your goal is a wildlife-focused pond. The larger landscape principle is similar: wetlands provide habitat while also helping landscapes cope with environmental extremes.

2. Create different layers of vegetation

Think less about individual plants and more about habitat structure. Try combining:

• trees

• shrubs

• climbing plants

• flowers

• longer grasses

• ground-level vegetation

These different layers provide feeding, nesting and shelter opportunities for different species. Even a small garden can contain surprising structural diversity.

A balcony can do it too: tall grasses, flowering containers and climbing plants create several miniature layers of habitat in only a few square metres.

3. Leave some areas less tidy

Wildlife rarely shares our enthusiasm for immaculate gardens. A pile of leaves beneath a hedge, some dead stems left over winter or a small stack of logs can provide habitat for insects and other creatures. You don’t need to let the whole garden go wild. Choose a corner.

That distinction is important. Rewilding doesn’t have to mean doing nothing.

Sometimes helping nature means intervening less. Sometimes it means actively creating the conditions in which nature can thrive. The conservation work at Dunwich itself demonstrates this balance: vegetation is cut, scrub managed and firebreaks maintained specifically to protect its distinctive heathland ecosystem.

4. Give your lawn some variety

You don’t have to choose between a bowling green and an impenetrable jungle. Try mowing different areas at different heights. Keep some shorter grass where you want to sit or walk, but allow other sections to grow. Add flowering plants suited to your soil and local conditions. You begin creating a mosaic of habitats - the small-scale equivalent of the varied landscapes conservationists are trying to encourage more widely.

5. Connect your patch with the world outside

Perhaps the most important principle of small-scale rewilding is connection. Your garden doesn’t exist in isolation. Birds fly between gardens. Bees travel between flowers. Insects, amphibians and small mammals move through vegetation, hedges and gaps between properties. So ask:

Can wildlife get into my space?

Is there food when it arrives?

Is there somewhere to shelter?

Can it move onwards to another habitat?

A hedge instead of a solid fence, climbing plants against boundaries or a small gap beneath a fence can make your patch part of a much larger ecological network.

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Small actions become bigger ecosystems

The lesson from Dunwich isn’t that planting a pond in your garden will stop wildfires. The more useful lesson is that nature becomes more resilient when landscapes contain variety, water, connectivity and healthy habitat. That principle works at many different scales.

A major nature reserve can create wetlands, grazing systems and habitat mosaics. A community might rewild a park, roadside verge or shared green. And an individual household can turn a lawn, balcony, courtyard or garden into another stepping stone for wildlife.

That’s where LettsSafari comes in.

LettsSafari is built around the idea that you don’t need to own a huge piece of countryside to participate in rewilding. You can make your own space wilder while helping support wider rewilding activity. Taken together, those individual actions can help create something much bigger: a growing network of places where nature has more room to thrive.

Because the future of rewilding isn’t only about spectacular projects in remote landscapes.

It can start outside your back door.

It’s an encouraging message because it proves that successful rewilding isn’t about having a huge garden. Whether you have a back garden, a courtyard, a balcony or a few containers, carefully choosing what you plant can have a surprisingly large impact.

At LettsSafari, we believe this perfectly reflects the future of small-scale rewilding. Thousands of people making small, thoughtful changes can collectively create thriving habitats for wildlife across the UK.

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What Is Keystone Planting?

In nature, some species are disproportionately important. Ecologists call these keystone species because many other plants, insects and animals depend upon them. The same principle applies to gardens.

Certain native plants provide food, shelter and breeding opportunities for far more insects than ornamental alternatives. More insects attract more birds. More birds help control pests and disperse seeds. Before long, your garden becomes part of a much larger ecosystem.

Rather than thinking about individual flowers, keystone planting encourages us to think about the entire food web.

Why Native Plants Matter

Native plants have evolved alongside Britain’s wildlife for thousands of years. That means:

• Pollinators recognise them.

• Caterpillars can feed on them.

• Birds find more insects living on them.

• They are generally better adapted to local conditions.

Many imported ornamental plants are beautiful but provide relatively little food or habitat for wildlife. Replacing just a few of these with native alternatives can significantly increase the biodiversity of your garden.

How to Start Keystone Planting

The beauty of this approach is that you don’t need to redesign your entire garden. Start small.

1. Choose Native Species

Look for plants that naturally occur in the UK.

Popular choices include:

• Hawthorn

• Field maple

• Hazel

• Foxgloves

• Oxeye daisy

• Knapweed

• Wild marjoram

These species support a wide variety of pollinators and insects throughout the growing season.

2. Plant in Groups

Clusters of the same flowers are much easier for bees and butterflies to spot than isolated plants. A group of five or six plants often provides far greater value than scattering individual specimens around the garden.

3. Think Beyond Flowers

Wildlife also needs:

• Shelter

• Nesting places

• Water

• Seed heads

• Leaf litter

Leaving a small patch of your garden a little untidy can often provide more value than another flower bed.

4. Avoid Chemicals

Reducing pesticides allows beneficial insects to flourish. More insects mean more natural pest control and more food for birds. Healthy ecosystems are remarkably good at finding their own balance.

5. Keep Something Flowering

Aim to provide nectar from early spring through to late autumn. A continuous supply of flowers supports pollinators throughout their entire life cycle.

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Small Gardens Can Deliver Big Results

One of the biggest myths about rewilding is that it requires large areas of land. In reality, urban gardens collectively cover hundreds of thousands of hectares across the UK. If each household introduced just a few keystone plants, together they would create an enormous network of connected habitats. Every container, courtyard, balcony and front garden becomes another stepping stone for wildlife.

How LettsSafari Helps

At LettsSafari, we’re passionate about making rewilding practical and accessible. Alongside supporting larger conservation projects, we help people discover simple ways to improve biodiversity where they live. Our guides, ideas and community focus on achievable actions, including:

• Choosing wildlife-friendly plants.

• Creating habitats for pollinators.

• Supporting birds and hedgehogs.

• Reducing lawn space.

• Making better choices for nature every season.

• Because rewilding doesn’t begin in a national park.

It begins at home.

Every Small Action Adds Up

Keystone planting reminds us that success isn’t measured by the size of your garden but by the choices you make within it.

Plant one native shrub.

Add a container full of pollinator-friendly flowers.

Leave a corner wild.

Create a small pond.

Each step helps reconnect wildlife with the places where people live.

Together, millions of small actions can create one of the UK’s largest habitats.

The beauty of the idea is that it proves one of the core principles behind LettsSafari: small actions, multiplied by thousands of people, create big environmental change.

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What is a Pollinator Pit Stop?

Think of it as a service station for wildlife.

A pollinator pit stop provides bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects with three essentials:

• Nectar-rich flowers for food

• Fresh water with safe landing places

• A welcoming place to rest before continuing their journey

Experts recommend using a simple planter filled with plants such as lavender, thyme and ivy, alongside a shallow dish of water containing pebbles so insects can drink safely without drowning.

Even the smallest outdoor spaces can become valuable stepping stones connecting wildlife habitats across towns and cities.

Why Small Spaces Matter

Many people assume that helping nature requires acres of countryside.

The reality is almost the opposite.

Modern towns are full of tiny gardens, balconies, courtyards and window boxes. Individually they seem insignificant. Together they form an enormous network of potential habitats.

Every flowering pot:

• feeds hungry pollinators

• supports local biodiversity

• improves urban ecosystems

• makes neighbourhoods greener and healthier

When thousands of people each make one small improvement, the cumulative impact is remarkable.

That’s exactly the philosophy behind LettsSafari.

How to Build Your Own Pollinator Pit Stop

The good news is that you can create one in less than an hour.

Step 1: Choose a Sunny Spot

Most nectar-rich flowers thrive with several hours of sunlight each day. A balcony, doorstep, patio or front garden all work well.

Step 2: Select Pollinator-Friendly Plants

Choose plants that provide nectar throughout the year. Good options include:

• Lavender

• Thyme

• Ivy

• Crocus

• Pulmonaria

• Sedum

• Asters

Aim for plants that flower across different seasons so pollinators always have something available.

Step 3: Add Water

Fill a shallow dish with fresh water. Add pebbles or small stones to create safe landing places for insects. Refresh the water regularly, particularly during hot weather.

Step 4: Avoid Chemicals

Skip pesticides and weedkillers wherever possible. Healthy pollinator habitats depend on healthy insects.

Step 5: Let Nature Do the Rest

Within days you may begin seeing:

• Bumblebees

• Honey bees

• Hoverflies

• Butterflies

• Ladybirds

Your tiny wildlife oasis quickly becomes part of a much larger ecological network.

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Take Your Rewilding One Step Further

Creating a pollinator pit stop is an excellent first step but imagine if every week you made one more small improvement.

That’s exactly what LettsSafari helps you do.

Our members receive practical ideas for creating more wildlife-friendly spaces at home, regardless of the size of their garden. Simple projects might include:

• planting for pollinators

• creating bird-friendly habitats

• providing food and shelter for hedgehogs

• encouraging beneficial insects

• improving biodiversity throughout the seasons

No complicated gardening knowledge required. Just small, achievable actions that make a genuine difference.

Small Actions Create Big Impact

One pollinator pit stop won’t solve biodiversity loss, neither will one wildflower patch. But millions of small wildlife-friendly spaces, created by ordinary people, can transform our towns and cities into thriving ecosystems. That’s why LettsSafari exists.

Together, we can make rewilding something everyone can take part in—one garden, one balcony and one pollinator pit stop at a time.

At LettsSafari, we believe every garden can become part of something bigger. Small actions, repeated by thousands of people, have the power to reconnect nature across our towns and cities. Here’s how you can start creating your own bird-friendly garden today.

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Why Birds Need Our Help

Many familiar garden birds are facing increasing pressure from habitat loss, changing land use and a decline in natural food sources. Urban gardens have become increasingly important stepping stones, allowing birds to find food, shelter and safe places to breed.

The good news is that wildlife doesn’t expect perfection. Birds are remarkably quick to discover gardens that provide what they need.

Step 1: Plant for Food Throughout the Year

Bird feeders are helpful, but natural food sources provide much greater value.

Choose plants that produce:

• Berries in autumn and winter

• Nectar-rich flowers for insects during spring and summer

• Seed heads that remain through autumn

• Native shrubs that support caterpillars and other insects

Native species such as hawthorn, blackthorn, rowan and holly provide excellent seasonal food while supporting hundreds of native insect species.

LettsSafari Tip

Aim to have something flowering, fruiting or seeding during every season. A garden that offers year-round food becomes far more valuable for wildlife.

Step 2: Create Layers of Habitat

Birds use different parts of a garden for different purposes.

Think in layers:

• Trees for nesting and singing posts

• Shrubs for shelter

• Long grass for insects

• Wildflowers for pollinators

• Ground cover where insects can thrive

Even in small gardens, varying plant height creates more opportunities for wildlife.

Step 3: Add Water

Fresh water is essential for drinking and bathing.

You don’t need a large pond.

Simple options include:

• A shallow bird bath

• A small container pond

• A water dish refreshed daily

Adding stones or gently sloping edges makes water accessible for insects as well as birds.

Step 4: Let Nature Be a Little Messy

The perfect garden isn’t always the best garden for wildlife.

Leave:

• Seed heads over winter

• Small piles of leaves

• Dead wood in quiet corners

• Longer patches of grass

• Areas where wildflowers can self-seed

These features become homes for insects, which in turn provide food for birds.

Think of your garden as a living ecosystem rather than an outdoor showroom.

Step 5: Avoid Harmful Chemicals

Reducing pesticides is one of the biggest positive changes you can make. Healthy gardens naturally develop a balance between predators and pests. Ladybirds, lacewings, frogs and birds all help keep populations under control. The more diverse your planting, the more resilient your garden becomes.

Every Garden Counts

One wildlife-friendly garden is wonderful. Hundreds connected across a neighbourhood are transformational. Birds, bees, butterflies and hedgehogs don’t recognise property boundaries. They simply need a network of safe places where they can feed, rest and breed. That’s exactly why smaller-scale rewilding matters.

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How LettsSafari Helps You Rewild at Home

Creating a wildlife-friendly garden is just the beginning. LettsSafari helps people take practical action by making rewilding simple, rewarding and accessible.

As a subscriber you’ll discover practical ideas for supporting wildlife in gardens, balconies and community spaces while helping fund larger rewilding projects across the UK. Every subscription contributes to measurable environmental impact:

• Every 10 subscribers help fund the planting of one tree each year.

• Every 100 subscribers help support the reintroduction of native wildlife.

• As the community grows, together we help create new spaces where nature can flourish.

• The beauty of rewilding is that it doesn’t require perfection. It simply starts with one small change, repeated by thousands of people.

Start This Weekend

If you’re wondering where to begin, keep it simple.

This weekend:

• Plant one native shrub.

• Leave one patch of grass to grow naturally.

• Add a shallow source of water.

• Skip the pesticides.

• Observe which birds visit your garden.

Small improvements quickly become lasting habitats.

Nature responds surprisingly fast when we make room for it.

It’s encouraging news. But perhaps the most important lesson isn’t the size of the investment - it’s how nature recovers.

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Wildlife doesn’t only thrive in national parks and nature reserves. It needs thousands of connected habitats, many of them surprisingly small. Gardens, balconies, school grounds, community spaces and business parks all have a role to play.

That’s exactly where LettsSafari comes in.

Why Small Spaces Matter

When people think about rewilding, they often picture hundreds of acres of countryside.

In reality, many species depend on networks of smaller habitats connected together. A pollinator visiting flowers in your garden today may visit a nearby park tomorrow before travelling to a local nature reserve. Birds, hedgehogs, bees and butterflies all benefit from these stepping stones.

One wildlife-friendly garden won’t change the country.

Ten thousand will.

What This Means for You

The Government’s investment shows that restoring nature is now a national priority. But you don’t need government funding to make a difference.

Here are six practical ways to begin rewilding your own space today.

1. Plant Native Species

Native wildflowers, shrubs and trees have evolved alongside British wildlife. Choose plants that provide nectar from early spring through to late autumn so pollinators always have something to feed on.

2. Create Layers of Habitat

Nature loves variety. Instead of keeping everything neat and flat, introduce different heights:

• Wildflowers

• Grasses

• Shrubs

• Small trees

• Climbers

• Containers with varied planting

Different species use different layers for food, shelter and nesting.

3. Leave Some Areas Untidy

A perfectly tidy garden isn’t always great for wildlife. Consider leaving:

• Seed heads over winter

• Small log piles

• Leaf litter

• Longer patches of grass

• Dead wood where it’s safe

These become homes for insects, fungi and small mammals that support the wider ecosystem.

4. Add Water

Even a shallow bowl of clean water can attract birds, bees and beneficial insects. If you have room, a small wildlife pond quickly becomes one of the most valuable habitats in any garden.

5. Reduce Chemicals

Every reduction in pesticides and herbicides helps create healthier food chains. Natural pest control often follows once birds, frogs, ladybirds and other beneficial species begin returning.

6. Join a Bigger Movement

The Government’s programme succeeds because hundreds of organisations are working towards one goal. The same principle applies locally.

By joining LettsSafari, your subscription helps support real rewilding projects while giving you ideas, inspiration and practical guidance to make your own outdoor space more wildlife-friendly. Together, thousands of small actions become something much bigger.

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How LettsSafari Helps

At LettsSafari, we believe rewilding should be accessible to everyone—not just landowners with acres to spare. Whether you have:

• A balcony

• A courtyard

• A small back garden

• An allotment

• A school garden

• A shared community space

You can make a meaningful contribution to nature recovery. Our community shares practical ideas that are simple to implement, affordable and enjoyable, while every subscription also contributes towards larger rewilding initiatives. It’s a way to create immediate impact close to home while supporting longer-term habitat restoration across the UK.

Every Wildlife-Friendly Garden Counts

The Government’s new investment is an important milestone for nature recovery in England. But restoring wildlife won’t be achieved by a handful of major projects alone. It will happen because millions of people decide to leave a corner of grass to grow, plant flowers for pollinators, provide water for birds or create shelter for insects.

Nature doesn’t ask for perfection.

It simply needs more places to thrive.

Start with your own space, however small, and become part of a growing movement that’s helping Britain become wilder, one garden at a time.

From wildflower meadows and native hedgerows to ponds buzzing with dragonflies and borders full of pollinator-friendly plants, these gardens demonstrate that nature and gardening go hand in hand.

The good news? You don’t need acres of land to make a difference. Whether you have a large garden, a small courtyard, or a balcony, you can create a space that welcomes wildlife while becoming more enjoyable for you too.

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Why Wildlife-Friendly Gardens Matter

The UK has lost significant areas of natural habitat over the past century. As towns and cities have expanded, many species have found it harder to find food, shelter and places to breed.

Our gardens now represent one of the country’s largest networks of green spaces. Collectively, they cover hundreds of thousands of hectares. When managed with wildlife in mind, they become stepping stones that connect parks, woodlands and nature reserves.

Every garden contributes to a much bigger picture.

How to Create Your Own Wildlife-Friendly Garden

You don’t need to redesign everything overnight. Small improvements often have the biggest long-term impact.

1. Choose More Native Plants

Native flowers, shrubs and trees have evolved alongside British wildlife. They provide food for bees, butterflies, birds and other insects throughout the year. Aim for a mixture of spring, summer and autumn flowering plants to provide a continuous source of nectar and pollen.

2. Leave Some Areas Wild

Not every corner needs to be perfectly tidy. Allow a patch of longer grass to grow, leave seed heads standing through winter, or create a small log pile. These simple habitats provide shelter for insects, amphibians and hedgehogs.

3. Add Water

Even a small container pond can become one of the most valuable habitats in your garden.

Birds need somewhere to drink and bathe, while frogs, insects and pollinators all benefit from reliable water sources.

4. Feed Pollinators

Choose flowers with open blooms that are easy for bees and butterflies to access. Avoid heavily double-flowered varieties that often contain little nectar.

5. Think Beyond the Fence

Wildlife doesn’t recognise property boundaries. Leaving small gaps under fences, planting hedges instead of solid barriers where possible, and coordinating with neighbours can help create natural wildlife corridors across entire neighbourhoods.

6. Reduce Chemicals

Many pesticides and weedkillers affect the insects that birds and other wildlife depend upon. Instead, encourage natural predators and allow nature to establish its own balance.

7. Celebrate Every Success

The first bee visiting a flower.

A blackbird nesting nearby.

Butterflies returning each summer.

These are all signs that your small actions are working.

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How LettsSafari Helps

At LettsSafari, we believe that rewilding doesn’t begin with vast estates - it begins at home. Our mission is to help people make practical changes that support wildlife every day while contributing to larger restoration projects across the UK.

As a LettsSafari member you’ll receive:

• Simple, practical ideas for making your outdoor space more wildlife friendly.

• Seasonal guides showing what to do throughout the year.

• Inspiration from successful gardens and community projects.

• The knowledge that your subscription also helps support wider UK rewilding initiatives.

Together, thousands of small gardens can become one enormous nature reserve.

Start Small. Grow Naturally.

The gardens featured through the National Garden Scheme show that wildlife-friendly gardening isn’t about perfection. It’s about creating spaces where people and nature thrive together. Whether you plant one native flower, install a bird bath or let a corner grow wild, you’re helping rebuild the habitats our wildlife depends upon. Small actions, repeated by thousands of people, can transform the landscape.

While much of the discussion focuses on national parks and large nature reserves, there’s another important part of the solution—our own gardens, balconies, courtyards and community spaces.

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Many British species are already feeling the effects of warmer temperatures and more frequent dry spells. Pollinators struggle when flowers disappear during drought, birds find fewer insects to feed their young, and amphibians lose vital wet habitats. The good news is that thousands of small wildlife-friendly spaces can collectively make an enormous difference. Even a modest garden or patio can become a stepping stone that helps wildlife move safely through towns and cities.

How to Make Your Garden More Climate Resilient

You don’t need to completely redesign your outdoor space. A few thoughtful changes can significantly increase its value for wildlife.

1. Add Fresh Water

During hot weather, clean water is one of the most valuable resources you can provide. Simple ideas include:

• A shallow bird bath

• A small wildlife pond

• Water dishes with stones for bees and butterflies

• Regularly topping up water during dry spells

Keep water clean and place some in shaded areas to reduce evaporation.

2. Plant for Pollinators Throughout the Season

Choose a variety of native and wildlife-friendly plants that flower from early spring through autumn. Aim for continuous nectar sources rather than one short flowering period. Good choices include:

• Lavender

• Foxgloves

• Knapweed

• Wild marjoram

• Cornflowers

• Verbena

The more variety you provide, the more insects you’ll attract.

3. Leave Areas a Little Wild

Nature doesn’t need everything to be tidy. Consider leaving:

• Long grass

• Seed heads over winter

• Small log piles

• Leaf piles

• Undisturbed corners

These provide shelter for insects, hedgehogs, amphibians and countless other species.

4. Plant More Trees and Shrubs

Even one small native tree can make a difference. Trees:

• Create cooler microclimates

• Hold moisture in the soil

• Provide nesting opportunities

• Support hundreds of insect species

If space is limited, shrubs and climbing plants can offer many of the same benefits.

5. Reduce Hard Surfaces

Patios and artificial grass can become extremely hot during summer. Replacing even a small section with planting helps:

• Absorb rainfall

• Reduce heat

• Improve biodiversity

• Support soil health

6. Connect Your Garden to Nature

Wildlife needs connected habitats. Small improvements include:

• Hedgehog highways through fences

• Native hedging

• Climbers on walls

• Window boxes full of nectar-rich flowers

• Green roofs on sheds or bike stores

These tiny links become important wildlife corridors.

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Small Changes Create Big Results

One wildlife-friendly garden is valuable. Hundreds of wildlife-friendly gardens across a neighbourhood become an ecosystem. Thousands become part of a national network that helps species adapt to changing conditions. This is exactly why small-scale rewilding matters.

How LettsSafari Helps

At LettsSafari, we believe everyone should be able to contribute to nature recovery - whether they have acres of land, a suburban garden or simply a balcony. Our mission is to make rewilding simple, practical and achievable.

Through LettsSafari you’ll discover:

• Easy rewilding ideas anyone can follow

• Seasonal wildlife-friendly gardening tips

• Practical guides for gardens of every size

• Inspiration from successful small-scale projects

• A community of people helping wildlife one step at a time

Every action matters.

Together, thousands of small spaces can have an extraordinary impact on biodiversity across the UK.

Getting Started This Weekend

If you’re wondering where to begin, try these five simple tasks:

1. Put out a shallow dish of fresh water.

2. Leave one corner of your garden a little wild.

3. Plant two nectar-rich flowers.

4. Build a small log pile.

5. Spend ten minutes watching which wildlife visits.

You might be surprised how quickly nature responds.

The ambition is simple but powerful: connect fragmented green spaces so wildlife can move more freely through urban environments.

While most of us won’t be planting thousands of trees, the project offers valuable lessons for anyone interested in rewilding their garden, balcony, local park, school, or community space.

At LettsSafari, we believe that successful rewilding starts with the same principle: creating many small habitats that together have a much bigger impact.

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Why Connected Habitats Matter

Many urban wildlife populations struggle because habitats have become isolated. A single wildflower patch or pond can help wildlife, but when habitats are linked together, they become far more valuable. Connected habitats allow:

• Pollinators to move between food sources

• Birds to find shelter and nesting sites

• Small mammals to travel safely

• Plants to spread naturally

• Wildlife populations to become more resilient

The London Tree Ring project is effectively creating a giant wildlife corridor around one of the world’s largest cities. The good news is that the same principle can work on a much smaller scale.

Five Ways to Create Wildlife Connections Near You

1. Think Beyond Your Own Garden

Many people focus only on their own outdoor space. Instead, consider how your garden or balcony connects to surrounding areas. Ask yourself:

• Are there nearby trees?

• Is there a park within flying distance for pollinators?

• Could birds travel between your garden and neighbouring green spaces?

Even small improvements can help create stepping stones for wildlife.

2. Plant Native Trees and Shrubs

Trees provide some of the richest wildlife habitats available. If you have space, consider native species such as:

• Hawthorn

• Rowan

• Silver Birch

• Field Maple

• Hazel

For smaller gardens, native shrubs can provide similar benefits while taking up less space.

3. Create a Pollinator Corridor

Pollinators often struggle to find continuous food sources through the season. Plant flowers that bloom at different times of the year:

Spring:

• Primrose

• Cowslip

• Bluebell

Summer:

• Knapweed

• Wild Marjoram

• Oxeye Daisy

Autumn:

• Ivy

• Devil’s-bit Scabious

• Michaelmas Daisy

This helps ensure food is available throughout the year.

4. Join Community Rewilding Projects

The success of the London Tree Ring project highlights the importance of collective action. Look for opportunities to:

• Join local tree planting schemes

• Support community gardens

• Volunteer for habitat restoration projects

• Participate in wildlife surveys

Working with others often creates a bigger impact than working alone.

5. Leave Space for Nature

One of the simplest actions is often the most effective. Consider leaving parts of your outdoor space slightly wild:

• Allow grass to grow longer

• Leave seed heads over winter

• Create a log pile

• Leave fallen leaves in sheltered corners

• These small habitat areas provide shelter and food for a wide range of species.

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What This Means for LettsSafari Members

The London Tree Ring project demonstrates that nature recovery is most successful when many people contribute small actions. That’s exactly the philosophy behind LettsSafari. Our mission is to help people take practical steps to support wildlife at home while also contributing to larger nature restoration efforts. Whether you have a garden, balcony, allotment, courtyard, or simply an interest in helping nature, small changes can contribute to wider biodiversity gains.

Rewilding Is a Team Sport

One of the most inspiring aspects of the London Tree Ring project is that it brings people together around a shared goal. Nature recovery is not something that happens somewhere else. It happens when neighbours plant trees, when schools create wildlife gardens, when communities restore local habitats, and when individuals decide to make a little more room for nature. The future of rewilding will be built from thousands of small projects connected together. Just like the wildlife habitats they create.