How It Works - UK (2020-05)

ENVIRONMENT

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Byavoidingsy ntheticfertilisersand

insecticides,gardenerscanreducecarbon

dioxideemissionscreatedduringtheir

productionprocess.Ratherthanpoisoning

pests,it iseasytodeterunwantedvisitorsby

plantingcertainherbsandflowersinand

aroundyourfruitandvegetablecrops.Chives,

basilandgarlicwillkeepthepestsatbayand

canbeusedincookingtoo,sonothinggoesto

wasteandthesoilremainsuncontaminated.

Takea lookattheflowersinyourgarden.Are

theycoveredinbeesandbutterflies?Ifthe

answerisno,thenyouhavefailedtoencourage

preciouspollinatorsontoyourland.Thereareso

manybeautifulplantsthatwillbrightenyour

gardenandfeedinsects,somakea conscious

decisiontochoosenectarplants.Ifyouhavea

smallplotofland,whynotplantsome

wildflowersandmakea minimeadow.Over

40 speciesofgrassesandflowerscanthriveon

onesquaremetreofmeadowlandcomparedtoa

turfedlaw nofthesamesize.Youcouldentice

hedgehogsandothersmallmammalsby

pilingupsomelogsorleav ingthegrassclippings

ina heapoverwinter.Strangeasit mayseem,

youcanhelptheplanetbydoingless.A tidy

gardenwillnotseemappealing,buta few

nettlesandweeds,anupturnedplantpotor

fallenfruitwillsoonhaveyouroutsidespace

teemingwithwildlife.

Ifyouareshortofspaceordon’thaveaccessto

a gardenyoucanstillhelpbycreatinga w indow

boxandanaccompanyingbughotel.Byplanting

bee-andbutterfly-friendlyflowersyoucan

attractthepollinators,thengetthemtostayby

offeringthema warmandcosyhometolivein.

Insectsneedsomewheresafetohidefrom

predatorsandshelterfrombadweather.A bug

hotelwillmaketheperfectretreat,andthegood

newsisit won’tcosta penny.Buildyourbug

houseoutofreclaimedmaterialssuchasbroken

pots,fallenwood,pineconesandoldpipes.Just

makesurethattherearelotsofdifferentsized

nooksandcranniesforyourgueststocrawlinto.

Beforeyouknowit youwillbesupportingyour

nativew ildlife– andtheplanet.

Superbees: the

perfect pollinators

With20,000differentspeciesbuzzing

aroundtheEarth,thehumblebeeis one

ofthemostinvaluablelivingthingson

ourplanet.Theyhavebeenprovidingus

withhoneyforthousandsofyearsand

pollinatingourflowers,quiterightly

becomingtheultimategardenhero,but

peopledon’trealisethata worldwithout

beeswouldbringabouttheendofhuman

civilisation.Over 90 percentofallmajor

globalcroptypesarepollinatedbythese

industriousinsects,creatingvegetables,

nutsandfruits,withbeesultimately

becomingresponsibleforoverone-third

ofourdailydiet.Withoutthemwewould

simplystarve.

Sadly,a combinationofoveruseof

pesticides,climatechangeandlossof

habitathascauseda worldwidedeclinein

bees.Byplantingbeebalmsandfoxgloves

inyourgardenandlettingivygrowupthe

walls,youwillbehelpingthebeeswho

spendsomuchtimehelpingus.

Youneverknowwhomightvisityour

eco-friendlygarden

©Getty

A bughousewill

encouragea varietyof

©Getty insectsintoyourgarden

Bumblebees collect pollen from all

sorts of flowers, including wild daisies

©Getty

© Getty

A perfectly prim garden might not be

the most attractive to critters

“Eco-warriors the world

over are beginning to

make a difference”