Gardeners in Kingsbridge have been recognised for their hard work improving local wildlife by Devon Wildlife Trust. The trust have been awarding plaques to recognise people’s efforts to improve their green spaces.

Karen Tompkins of Montagu Road and Juliette Baston-Kuil of Wallingford Road, Kingsbridge, have both received plaques for their gardening work.

The plaques can be received by anyone who has access to a garden or outside place that is having a positive impact on the environment through their work, including using the provisions of food, water and shelter to actively attract local wildlife, and Devon Wildlife Trust hope these local achievments will encourage more peoople to apply.

In Karen’s garden, she has incorporated a variety of tools to benefit local wildlife, from hedgehogs to birds and bees. She has implemented bug hotels, bird and bat boxes, hedgehog feeding stations, hedgehog nest boxes, toad houses, water baths and ground level water stations to attract wildlife to her garden. For pollinators, she has implemented a variety of herbs and flowers for bees and butterflies, like lavender, sage, verbena, foxgloves and catmint.

The plaques are part of a countywide scheme to aid local wildlife and have a positive impact on the environment, and Devon Wildlife Trust are encouraging anyone who is passionate about aiding the wildlife in their green space to apply for the Wildlife Garden Awards.

There are 15 million gardens in the uk, which is an area greater than all National Nature Reserves put together, so the impact this scheme could have on the environment is huge.

In 2021, the Natural History Museum revealed that the UK has just 53% of its biodiversity remaining, making it one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Thus, Devon Wildlife Trust hope that that awards like this will encourage people across Devon to tackle statistics like this and create better spaces for nature.

Juliette says of her garden: “I’m very proud to have a non-chemical, bug loving garden that I’m privileged to steward. I happily pay my nature tax - bugs get to eat some of my veggies and live on, and I get to eat some of my veggies too. During the spring & summer months the garden is abuzz with countless butterflies & bumble bees and it should be like that in every garden.”

Local Community Group Kingsbridge Climate Action will be conducting an open wildlife gardens event during Great Big Green Week 2023, where they will be celebrating local gardens like Karen and Juliette’s. The event will be an opportunity for people with a passion for wildlife and the environment to meet and collaborate on ideas about creating spaces for nature in their backyards.

Rosa Hannaford from Kingsbridge Climate Action said of the plans: “We hope an open gardens type event, celebrating gardening that allows wildlife to thrive, will highlight how easy and vital it is to enhance nature in our neighbourhoods. We need to recognise the importance of our urban green corridors, which allow wildlife to forage and navigate their way around towns such as Kingsbridge. We hope that many more gardeners and nature lovers will follow in Karen’s and Juliette’s footsteps.”

To find out more about the open wildlife garden event you can email [email protected] and to apply for a Wildlife Garden Award visit https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/wildlife-garden-award.