South West Gardens hold the key to life

12.45.24pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 12th Jul 2006

It may be too late to save the Woolly Mammoth or Sabre Tooth Tiger but gardens across the South West may provide what's needed to save more common species from extinction.

Bird and animal numbers continue to decline across Europe. Recent studies have highlighted a rapid fall in butterflies, moths, bees and many other insects which provide the food supply to sustain larger creatures.

The Large Blue and Tortoiseshell butterflies have both become extinct in Britain in the last 20 years and Large Garden Bumblebee and Shrill Carder Bee numbers have dropped by 95% since 1960.

A lack of summer insects is believed to be the main cause for sparrow numbers to have more than halved in the last 20 years.

Scientists are still unclear about what is causing the loss but a reduction in habitat, different farming practices, climate change and use of pesticides are all regarded as likely factors.

Researchers at insect conservation trust Buglife say that the habitat provided by suburban gardens provides one of the few instances of good news.

European governments have agreed to try and halt the loss of biodiversity across the continent by 2010. Now a South West MEP is calling for the European Commission to include the encouragement of good gardening practices within its conservation effort.

Graham Watson, the South West and Gibraltar Lib Dem MEP, says local gardeners have an important role to play in providing a haven for plant and insect life.

He said:

"How we treat our gardens can make or break the survival of species locally. A 'tidy' garden may be the kiss of death for the insects that provide food for birds, frogs and many small mammals.

"We need to do more to care for our creepy crawlies. Dense vegetation, dead leaves and old seed heads are all good hideaway places.

"The European Union has a major programme to protect endangered habitats that includes all the Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Britain. But urban and suburban open spaces offer better potential for supporting life than most farmers' fields."

Practical advice from Buglife (www.buglife.org.uk) for encouraging insects in the garden includes:

Cover is very important so don't be too tidy. Dense vegetation dead leaves and old seed heads are all good hideaway places. A log pile in a shaded spot may attract spectacular beetles.

Laying a number of flat stones around the garden will provide shelter for predators such as centipedes and ground beetles which keep plant pests at bay.

If you have a large enough garden then allow native plants to take over a small area. Nettles attract butterflies and moths.

Compost rubbish to enrich your soils and provide food and a home for a variety of insects. Compost heaps will attract woodlice, millipedes and slugs.

Avoid using chemical pesticides if another control method will do. Biological alternatives can be found in garden centres or on the internet.

Don't trim shrubs until late in the summer. If you allow some of the fallen leaves and cuttings to remain in a section of the garden you will provide a useful shelter for insects.

Lawns cut regularly provide a good feeding ground for birds. Grass allowed to grow for the whole of the summer provides a home for insects.