Question: How much has wildlife numbers dropped and how can we inprove that at home?

Becky Thomas answered on 11 Jun 2018:

Great question, but a tough one to answer as it is different for every species. Many species are under threat for many different reasons (climate change, habitat change because our towns and cities are getting bigger etc.), but some are actually doing well in our cities because of people. Goldfinches are beautiful little birds that you can find in gardens. Their numbers were in decline because of changes happening in our farms over the last 50+ years, but they are making a massive recovery now because of garden bird feeding. People have started feeding very small seeds called niger seeds which goldfinches love and so they are helping these birds survive in what is quite a challenging environment.

In your garden you can easily make your garden better for insects. Don’t mow the lawn as often so that flowers and grass have a chance to grow, leave some ‘weedy’ patches, or plant some pollinator friendly plants. If you look after the insects then the birds and mammals (like house sparrows and hedgehogs) will love visiting your garden because you are feeding them what they need! You can also put our bird seed for the birds or dog food out for the hedgehogs 🙂