You do not need acres of land to make space for nature.
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.
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
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.