Dorset’s gardeners celebrated at Wildlife Friendly Gardening Awards
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Dorset’s most wildlife friendly gardens were honoured at Castle Gardens in Sherborne. Dorset Wildlife Trust’s annual Wildlife Friendly Garden Competition, which is sponsored by The Gardens Group, saw 43 entries this year, from schools, visitor centres and tourist attractions around the county.
A new category was added in 2016 for rented accommodation, to promote the idea that everyone can provide a more welcoming habitat for wildlife, without necessarily making structural changes to the garden.
Before the awards were announced, British bat expert, Nick Tomlinson, conservation officer at Somerset Wildlife Trust, gave a fascinating talk about the importance of bats and their role in garden biodiversity. With Dorset home to 16 species, it is the most diverse county in the UK for bats, so Nick provided some useful advice and tips on how to give bats the best welcome and look after them in the garden.
Mike Burks, managing director of The Gardens Group, explains: “Each year the bar is raised and the entrants into the competition get more creative and sophisticated in their efforts to provide vital corridors for our wildlife.
"It is an absolute pleasure for me to visit these gardens during the judging process and see what a difference these wonderful havens are making to the county’s wildlife.”
Wildlife Friendly Gardening Awards 2016
Large gardens
- First place: Hugh Miles from Corfe Mullen
- Second place: Gillian and Allan Reese from Dorchester
- Third place: Bridget Bowen from Piddletrenthide
Medium gardens - First place: Bernard Sullivan from Bourton
- Second place: Jackie and John Lloyd from Preston
- Third place: Barry Shepherd from Wool
Small gardens
- First place: Lyn Parson from Bournemouth
- Second place: Carole Irving from Maiden Newton
- Third place: Richard and Linda Hart from Gillingham
Gardens in rented accommodation
- First place: Sarah Jane Buckle from Poole
- Second place: Lenka Provasnikova from Bournemouth
- Third place: Penny Smith from Harmon’s Cross
Community gardens
- First place: Smiley Faces Preschool in Southwell, Portland
- Second place: Michael House in Grosvenor Gardens, Boscombe
- Third place: Hengistbury Head Volunteers, Barn Cottage, Broadway
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