BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-05)

May 2020 BBC Wildlife 93

MEET THE AUTHORS

Howdidyouget into wildlife

gardening?

Mostlyduetoa childhoodofbeingimmersed

innatureandsurroundedbya family

ofnaturalistsandhorticulturalists– but

mainlyMum’sinfluenceinbeinga very

keengardener!Atanearlyage,ourparents

installeda wildlifepondinthebackgarden,

wherewespentmanyanhourmesmerised

bythenewts,frogsanddragonfliesthat

wouldvisit.Wealsowitnesseda hugedecline

inlocalsongbirdsandinparticularthesong

thrush,housesparrowandswift,whichwe

usedtoseeinthedozens.Throughourwork,

wesoonrealisedwecouldactivelyencourage

thesespeciesbackintopeople’sgardens.

Whichgardeningachievement are

youmostproudof?

It is everytimewereceiveanemailortext

froma clientwitha pictureofa newspecies

ofdragonfly,butterfly,mothorperhapsa

greywagtailthathasvisitedtheirnewwildlife

pond.It’sa wonderfulfeelingtoknowthat

wildlifealloverthecountryis movinginto

thegardensthatwecreateand thriving

whereit hasn’tpreviously.

Doeswildlifegardening benet

humans,too?

Byencouragingmorewildlifeintoour

outdoorspaces,it givesusmorepurpose

to get outside and enjoy the world on our

doorstep.It’sa well-knownfactthatbyeven

spending 30 minutesa dayoutsideandjust

sittingandwatchingnaturearoundus,it

bringsusa greatsenseofwell-beingand

easesthestressesandstrainsofdailylife.

Shouldwesticktonativeplants,orcan

non-nativeplantsbeusedaswell?

Therichestgardens,intermsofwildlife,are

thosethatoffera mosaicofhabitats.People

cangethunguponnativeversusnon-native

plants,however,thegardenswecreate

havea mixofboth.Ingeneral,theinsects

ofthiscountrywillbeusedtoutilising

nativespecies,suchasbird’s-foottrefoiland

commonknapweed,fornectar.However,a

wellpackedherbaceousborderincludinga

mixofNepeta,SalviaandVerbenabonariensis

canbebuzzingwithbutterfliesandbees.

What’syourtoptipformakinga

gardenmorewildlifefriendly?

Quitesimply,installa wildlifepond.There

is nobettersourceoflife.A well-planned

wildlifepondwithshallowmarginsforbirds

andmammalstobatheanddrinkfrom,

rottinglogsaroundtheedgeforfrogsand

newtstohuntbetweenandsouthernhawker

dragonfliestolaytheireggson,twinned

withmarginsplantedwithwildflowerssuch

ascuckooflower,raggedrobinandpurple

loosestrife,willabsolutelydrawininsects

from far and wide.Megan Shersby

Stranger

thanNature

There’snoshortageofcurious

behaviour,unsolvedmysteriesand

newdiscoveriesintheanimal

kingdom.Thisnewseriesaimsto

casta lightonjusta fewbizarre

reportssurroundinga varietyof

speciesacrosstheglobe.Takea

closerlookat thealpineibex’s

death-defyingdiningtendencies,

examinehowhumboltsquidhave

endedupdecimatingfish

populationsinCalifornia’swaters,

andfollowa murdermystery

involvinga European elk.

Angharad Moran

JoinnaturewriterMelissa

Harrisononhercountryside

walksduringlockdown.Livingin

ruralSuffolk,Melissarecordsher

encounterswiththelocalwildlife

andplantlife.There’sanalmost

constantbackingtrackof

birdsong– someofwhich

Melissapicksoutandrevealshow

torecognisetheavianvocalistsin

question.Thereareevenspecial

guests(recordedseparately,due

toCOVID-19),includingauthors

andpoetswhosharetheirwork.

ListeningtoMelissa’ssoothing

narrationis likelytobea real

tonicforthosewhocan’taccess

nature first-hand at the moment.

AM

TV

NAT GEO, FROM 18 MAY

OURWILD WORLD

Catfish: Jack Perks

WildYourGarden

DK, £14.99

StubbornLight

ofThings

PODCAST

MELISSAHARRISON.CO.UK/PODCAST

JimandJoel Ashton

The‘butterybrothers’discusstheirloveof

gardening and the species it can help to support.

HaveEuropean

elktakentoa

life of crime?

Thebrothers

withSirDavid

Attenborough.