This year began very positively with the uplifting and inspiring experience of attending the first ever ‘Wilding Gardens’ conference in January at Manchester University. The ‘Gardening for Nature, Ourselves and the Planet’ event was organised by a group of well-known gardeners and environmentalists including Isabella Tree from the Knepp Rewilding Project, the garden designer Tom Stuart- Smith, and James Hitchmough, a horticultural ecologist.
For two days, the 500 delegates were treated to a wide range of expert speakers, focusing on what we can do to help restore wildlife and combat climate change in our gardens. Speakers included: Fergus Garrett from Great Dixter, Sheila Das – Head of gardens and parks at the National Trust, James Hitchmough, Isabella Tree, and Andy Burnham who spoke about the importance of green space in Greater Manchester. Craig Bennett, Chief Exec of the Wildlife Trusts, discussed the State of Nature 2023 report, covering the UK’s current biodiversity, and how the loss of abundance of wildlife is just as important as loss of species. Britain is one of the world’s least ‘nature connected’ countries, and there has been a 75% loss of wildlife abundance in the UK. This despite us identifying ourselves as a nation of nature lovers.
The event also proved to be a valuable opportunity for networking with the wide range of institutions, environmental groups, charities, and gardeners from across the country.