Latest Review Summary (May 2026)
[The Consultant] spent two hours investigating my garden. This was a fantastic experience and, at £10, almost embarrassing. What better way to spend a morning than learning, being encouraged and then inspired to improve a tiny corner of the world?
For the full review; see the end of this webpage.
Background
Gardens are very important for nature.
Have you ever considered how to enhance the wildlife value of your garden?
Local ecologists are offering a wildlife gardening consultation for up to four hours depending on garden size.
The volunteers have advised upon conservation matters in both the UK and overseas. More specifically, they have created wildlife friendly spaces in a variety of settings.
They are former research biologists and are now largely retired. They would like to help people green-up their gardens at a time when wildlife is very much under siege.
The project has been running since October 2019 and all feedback has been positive.
Approach
All advice will be in response to the wishes of the participants and reflect both the potential and the realities of their specific garden.
This is NOT a ‘one size fits all’ drop of standard wildlife gardening ideas that anyone can get from books, TV or the internet.
The advisors will consider the particular wishes and circumstances of the participant and the characteristics of their site. So, if a person has a postage stamp sized garden and they want a wildflower meadow; that may not be the first line of advice!
Deliverables and Future Work
The recipient is expected to take their own notes during the course of the consultation in response to any suggestions from the consultant as they deem necessary. As such, there is no formal deliverable from the consultant to the recipient as part of this process. Any material provided by the consultant (after the consultation) – eg by email – is at the discretion of the consultant and should not be assumed; ie the recipient, as noted above, must take their own notes.
The consultants are not looking for work. The agents of any change are primarily the participants. Any ongoing green gardening activities and the provision of further information is on a case by case basis.
Cost
An advanced payment of £10 must be made to Transition Southampton.
The consultants do not receive any of this money; their services are given free.
How to Participate
The scheme is limited to properties within approximately five miles of Portswood.
If you would like to participate in this scheme please contact us using this form.
Thank you
PS If you have requested information about this project, and haven’t received a reply, please look in your SPAM folder, just in case your email system has put our email in your SPAM folder. It has happened before. Thanks.
Latest Review (May 2026)
[The Consultant] spent two hours investigating my garden. This was a fantastic experience and, at £10, almost embarrassing. What better way to spend a morning than learning, being encouraged and then inspired to improve a tiny corner of the world?
He informed me that the chunk of garden, which is currently a dry mud bath, is due to the dry weather, our chickens and a massive neighbouring tree by the bordering fence. Despite this, he was remarkably positive.
Our messy log piles got top marks, weedy borders were complemented as insect havens and the block paving was accepted as a useful drive and courtyard for entertaining; I was sure I would be encouraged to dig them up!
His message was one of tolerance for the garden owners’ individual wants and needs and building from the ground up.
Even the non-native plants were not spurned as I learned that some local insects can adapt if the new plants are not too far from the [evolutionary] origins they expect.
He explained the essentials of a food chain starting with the small. He delightedly identified holes in our logs as belonging to a variety of beetles and their larvae; “If you want the big creatures you have to have the little ones for them to feed on”. Fabulous news if you like creepy crawlers which we do!
I was even treated to a mini garden redesign to try and develop the aforementioned disaster zone; a new pond – an essential element missing from our garden – different planting to cope with the arid zone and a ‘refugium’ area from which the chickens would be politely excluded to protect the small wildlife.
Sue, Southampton