Author: Steve Ott

FROM 16 JULY AND FOR 3 WEEKS Garden wildlife specialist Vivara has teamed up with wildlife charity, Butterfly Conservation, to help encourage people to become citizen scientists this summer. The new website brand, owned by CJ WildBird Foods, has become a sponsor of the annual Big Butterfly Count, a UK-wide butterfly spotting survey. Launching on Friday, 16 July and running…

Research reveals 46% of people believe their household uses under 20 litres a day when in actual fact, the average person in the UK uses 142 litres of water a day. Not only does wasting water mean higher bills, it also impacts our carbon footprint. Have you ever noticed how much water we use when cooking? Whether you’re looking to…

New research published today (21 May) points to a growing disconnect between people and wildlife, despite many in the UK claiming they feel closer to nature following a year of lockdown.  A survey commissioned by Jordans Cereals has found that almost half (44%) of the UK public have never seen a hedgehog in the wild, a figure that increases to…

Today (May 20) is World Bee Day. How will you be celebrating? Why not resolve to set aside a part of your garden for bees or to leave a small part of the lawn un-mown for wild flowers to thrive? maybe put up a home for solitary bees? Find out more about how you can help these wonderful and essential…

Over 60 of the UK’s leading artists have donated works to be auctioned online from Saturday 15th – Sunday 30th May 2021 to raise vital funds for Horatio’s Garden, a charity that supports patients, their loved ones and NHS staff affected by spinal injury through creating and nurturing beautiful, accessible, therapeutic gardens in NHS spinal injury centres. There are five…

During lockdown many Britons turned to gardening with new-found – or renewed – enthusiasm. Now that coronavirus restrictions are easing in the UK, celebrity gardener and patron of the charity Send a Cow, Toby Buckland, is encouraging us to pay back what we’ve gained from our green spaces this past year – by helping people in Africa who are still at risk in the pandemic, and who are also on the frontline of the climate crisis.   He’s suggesting sponsored garden campouts and other fundraising activities in our back or front gardens, or…

It’s National Gardening Week from 26th April – 2nd May. Enjoy a great day out at Blenheim Palace and discover its magical mix of ancient woodland, lakes, formal gardens and ‘Capability’ Brown-landscaped parkland. This year the Oxfordshire UNESCO World Heritage Site has also created a series of outdoor route options for visitors to explore as well as a new audio…