Wildlife Gardening for a Biodiverse London

This is a fantastic series of courses for those hoping to increase the range of habitats and variety of wildlife in their gardens. These events will teach you to improve the biodiversity of domestic outdoor spaces no matter how big or small. Participants will have the hands-on opportunity to create and take home an assortment of mini habitats which attract wildlife at the end of each course. You may attend each of the Urban Wildlife Gardening courses individually or book the complete series at a discounted rate.

Sat 4th June - MICRO HABITATS: BUILD A BUG BOX & DIY COMPACT COMPOSTER You can attract beneficial insects and other creatures into your garden by building a bug box. Insects are vital in keeping the ecosystem in your garden working and bug boxes provide snug, safe places for them to hibernate. During the first part of this course, you will learn about beneficial garden insects and design and build your own personal Bug Box to take home with you at the end of the class. In the second part, you will build an attractive composting container to suit any size garden or balcony and learn how to maintain it to attract wildlife and recycle a lot of your kitchen and garden waste,

Sat 11th June - WATER FOR WILDLIFE: MAKE & MAINTAIN PETITE POND FEATURES During this course, you will learn how to make an everyday container into a mini wildlife pond and all you need to know about building and maintaining it. You will be shown how to choose the right container and how to line, fill and position it to avoid contaminates and receive the appropriate amount of light. Keeping the water oxygenated is crucial and you will practise, hands on, how to select and position suitable pond plants and how to attract wildlife by creating levels to allow easy access. There are various do’s and don’ts when it comes to pond maintenance which will also be covered and you’ll even learn basic wildlife identification of what can find living in your pond.

Sat 18th June - BEE HOME & GARDEN: PLANT A POTTED WILDLOWER HABITAT & MAKE A MINI BEE ABODE You can grow wildflowers in any container which can hold soil and with this course, you will learn to choose the best plants for your space available, growing conditions and purpose. You will learn to create suitable soil conditions and plant from seed as well as gain experience in transplantation and how to manage your choice of potted habitat. In the second part of the course, using a small untreated wooden plank, plenty of hollow stems and some common tools and fixings, you’ll be taught make a nest for solitary bees to take it home at the end of the course. Mason bees are much more effective pollinators than bumble bees and after hatching in spring, the female spends most of her life searching for places in which to lay her eggs.