The Scottish Wildlife Trust and People’s Postcode Lottery are celebrating the first day of spring on Sunday 20 March with a list of 10 top tips for your garden.

Every season, players of People’s Postcode Lottery support a huge variety of activities on the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s network of 120 wildlife reserves. From the urban wildlife garden of Johnston Terrace in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle to the remote wilderness of Ben Mor Coigach in Wester Ross, players are helping to provide safe havens for wildlife across the country and inspiring people of all ages to connect with nature. However, nature doesn’t just need looking after on wildlife reserves and our top ten tips enable anyone with a garden to help wildlife this spring.

Our 10 top tips are:

1. Don’t be too tidy – leaving a corner of your garden to grow wild will provide food and habitat for a whole range of insects.
2. Feed the birds – provide a good quality seed mix to help adult birds before the breeding season.
3. Leave some long grass – let the grass grow long in damp areas to provide a safe area for frogs, toads and newts.
4. Give hedgehogs a helping hand – providing food and water (never milk) for hedgehogs will help them to refuel after hibernating over winter.
5. Install a bird box – now is the best time to put bird boxes up in your garden, just find a north-facing surface protected from driving rain and wind.
6. Create an insect hotel – tie short lengths of bamboo canes together and string up to attract insects.
7. Make a pond – old sinks, washing up bowls or buckets sunk into the ground can provide a valuable habitat and source of water for many animals.
8. Plant wildflowers – wildflowers provide a fantastic source of nectar for pollinators such as bees, butterflies and moths.
9. Avoid using pesticides – a wildlife-friendly garden should be pesticide free!
10. Use peat-free compost – make sure that the compost you buy doesn’t include peat taken from our wildlife-rich peatlands.

Clara Govier, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery said:

“The beginning of spring is always a time to look forward to. Whether it’s hearing birdsong or admiring springtime blossoms, we all love spotting the signs of spring in nature. That’s why we want to make it easy for people to do their bit to protect it. We’re very proud of what players have enabled the Scottish Wildlife Trust to do for Scotland’s wildlife – birds, butterflies, red squirrels and beautiful wildflowers are just a few examples of what players are helping to protect.”

Jonny Hughes, Chief Executive of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said:

“The Scottish Wildlife Trust has received a staggering £3.8 million from the players of People’s Postcode Lottery over the last eight years, helping to support a huge range of activities to safeguard Scotland’s wonderful and iconic wildlife. From inspiring thousands of children at our Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre to protecting peregrine falcons at the spectacular Falls of Clyde, the generosity of players of People's Postcode Lottery is certainly something to celebrate this spring. Our 10 top tips will hopefully make it even easier for people to help the wildlife they love.”

ENDS

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

• The Scottish Wildlife Trust is Scotland’s leading nature conservation charity, representing nearly 40,000 members who care for wildlife and the environment.
• The Scottish Wildlife Trust seeks to raise public awareness of threatened habitats and species and manages 120 reserves Scotland-wide.
• The Scottish Wildlife Trust receives financial assistance and support from a range of organisations, funders and individuals including Scottish Natural Heritage and players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
• People’s Postcode Lottery is a charity lottery. Players play with their postcodes to win cash prizes while raising money for charities and good causes across Great Britain and globally
• People’s Postcode Lottery is an External Lottery Manager and manages multiple society lotteries promoted by different causes supporting a range of charities. For details on which society lottery is running each week, visit www.postcodelottery.co.uk/society
• Postcode Lottery Limited is regulated by the Gambling Commission under certificate nr 000-000829-N-102511-010 and 000-000829-R-102513-009. Registered office: Titchfield House, 69/85 Tabernacle Street, London, EC2A 4RR
• People’s Postcode Lottery players support the following Trusts – Postcode African Trust, Postcode Animal Trust, Postcode Care Trust, Postcode Children Trust, Postcode Community Trust, Postcode Culture Trust, Postcode Dream Trust, Postcode Earth Trust, Postcode Global Trust, Postcode Green Trust, Postcode Heroes Trust, Postcode Local Trust, Postcode Planet Trust, Postcode Support Trust, People’s Postcode Trust and Postcode Sport Trust. These Trusts are funded entirely by players and support a variety of good causes. For further information on each charity, visit: www.postcodelottery.co.uk/charities
• £10 for 10 draws paid monthly in advance with prizes every day. For further prize information visit: www.postcodelottery.co.uk/prizes
• A minimum of 27.5% goes directly to charities and players have raised £108.9 Million for good causes across the country
• Maximum amount a single ticket can win is 10% of the draw revenue to a maximum of £400,000
• Players can sign up by Direct Debit, credit card or PayPal online at www.postcodelottery.co.uk, or by calling 0808 10-9-8-7-6-5.
• This prize was part of the draw promoted by People’s Postcode Trust and Postcode Green Trust