Think about the bigger picture when deciding what to buy for your garden. The distance products have travelled and the processes used for their production can impact on the environment. ‘Make do and mend’ is a great approach to life in general, especially now we need to adopt more sustainable ways.
Nature Street examples:
- Choose plants that benefit the environment and are not invasive or potentially harmful to the wider countryside.
- Avoid peat-based products as peat extraction has huge environmental impacts.
- Use untreated wood to make animal homes. Why not recycle an old wooden box or some timber planks?
- Re-use water from roofs for watering plants, filling bird baths and ponds. Washing up water can also be used for watering plants, but is best avoided for ponds.
- Add a compost heap to your garden - there are many shapes and sizes of container available, or you could make your own.
- If you decide to remove hard landscaping, can you use the waste to create new habitat features such as stone piles or rockeries?
- Use old containers and household objects for interesting or maybe quirky planters instead of buying plastic plant pots.