© Eleanor Church
Garden for a living London
We all have the power and responsibility to make a huge difference.
So we are asking gardeners to take urgent action now and pledge to Garden for a Living London.
Help transform the capital's three million gardens into a network of nature reserves
There are over three million gardens in Greater London - 3,267,174 to be precise. That's an area of 37,942.09 hectares*.
In the face of climate change and habitat fragmentation, this massive expanse of green space has enormous untapped potential for both people and wildlife.
However, worrying research by London Wildlife Trust shows that London's gardens are changing from green to grey.
Garden greenspace in the capital's gardens has been lost at a rate of two and a half Hyde Parks per year - driven by recent trends in garden design.
We need to reverse this trend!
London Wildlife Trust's Garden for a Living London campaign is calling on city gardeners to pledge to do one thing to create a wildlife and climate friendly garden, and help transform the capital's three million gardens into a network of mini nature reserves.
Fox at Centre for Wildlife Gardening credit Daniel Greenwood
Three million mini nature reserves
The Garden for a Living London campaign aims to highlight the incredible importance of the capital's gardens to wildlife and to people. In urban areas especially, gardens will help reduce the impacts of climate change.
They provide shade, absorb carbon, soak up flood water, retain water and help to cool the city.
They also provide vital habitat for wildlife, and a strong network of wildlife and climate-friendly gardens stretching across the capital will provide room for species to move freely and adapt to our changing climate.
The fact there are over three million gardens in Greater London shows just how important a resource they are.
Wildlife gardening guides
London Wildlife Trust has come up with six gardening actions that would help create a 'Living London' - a city more resilient to climate change and better for wildlife:
Large white butterfly credit Megan Lowe
Plant drought-resistant plants
Drought-resistant plants that are good for wildlife provide food and shelter for birds and insects.
As our summers become drier due to climate change, drought-tolerant plants reduce the need to water your garden.
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) hedge in blossom at RSPB's Hope Farm in Cambridgeshire. May 2011. - Chris Gomersall/2020VISION
Plant a mixed hedgerow
A mixed hedgerow provides food, nesting places and shelter for lots of birds, mammals and insects.
Hedges also create cool, shady places in what otherwise might be a hot, exposed site.
Wildlife pond at Centre for Wildlife Gardening credit Ella Cox
Make a pond
Ponds greatly improve a garden's wildlife potential. Even small ponds can support a rich diversity of wildlife and provide places for animals to bathe, drink and mate.
A series of ponds in a neighbourhood creates essential corridors for wildlife to move and adapt to climate change.
Biting stonecrop credit Philip Precey
Add a green roof to your shed
Living roofs increase the planting area in your garden and provide extra wildlife habitat.
They also absorb rainwater and can help to stabilise the temperature of a building.
Credit Gillian Day
Wild up your decking
Adding planted containers to your wooden decking creates refuges for animals as they travel through your garden.
There's very little that won’t grow in a container. The result can be an attractive and rich green space that benefits people and wildlife.
Credit Julietta Watson
Use mulch
Mulch provides cover for small animals and, as it breaks down, it enriches the soil and provides nourishment for plants. These in turn encourage more wildlife into your garden.
Adding a thick layer of mulch to your soil is one of the easiest and most useful jobs you can do to reduce the severity of climate change.