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What actions were taken?
House sparrows will benefit from many of the actions you took
Participants were given advice on up to 19 wildlife-friendly gardening practices, based on the features they reported as having in their garden. The commonest features people reported having in their gardens in descending order were flower beds, lawns, shrubs or hedges, trees, climbing plants, fruiting plants, ponds and wood piles. Later in the year, participants were asked whether they took up the advice that was offered and if so, how easy they found it, and whether they enjoyed doing it. Nearly everyone reported carrying out some of the recommended gardening actions, with some doing as many as 16. In all, around 65% of all the actions recommended were followed. The table below summarises participants’ response to the actions on offer. | | Participants’ response | | |
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| Gardening action | No (1) | Done | Intend to do | % Done (2) | | Grow a mix of nectar-rich flowering plants | 4195 | 3574 | 327 | 85.2 | | Keep bare patches in flower-beds | 3939 | 3486 | 56 | 88.5 | | Grow a mix of native and non-native trees and shrubs | 3664 | 2974 | 129 | 81.2 | | Increase the minimum height of your grass | 3840 | 2827 | 150 | 73.6 | | Leave some grass uncut throughout the summer | 3840 | 2533 | 119 | 66.0 | | Retain bare patches on the lawn | 3850 | 2445 | 90 | 63.5 | | Cut back herbaceous plants at the end of the winter | 3939 | 2168 | 637 | 55.0 | | Leave some long grass over the winter | 3840 | 2104 | 1034 | 54.8 | | Prune trees and shrubs at the end of the winter | 3664 | 2000 | 596 | 54.6 | | Prune trees and shrubs on rotation | 3664 | 1886 | 504 | 51.5 | | Create a woodpile | 1961 | 1838 | 54 | 93.7 | | Manage a pond sympathetically for wildlife | 1943 | 1802 | 57 | 92.7 | | Fit cat with bell or deter visiting cats | 3606 | 1550 | 116 | 43.0 | | Keep decaying wood on trees and shrubs | 2217 | 1545 | 102 | 69.7 | | Provide nesting materials in spring | 1211 | 860 | 131 | 71.0 | | Retain existing nests in or on your home | 1290 | 754 | 87 | 58.4 | | Put up external nestboxes | 1547 | 409 | 347 | 26.4 | | Provide food and water for birds throughout the year | 388 | 344 | 16 | 88.7 | | Install internal nestboxes | 1290 | 15 | 65 | 1.2 |
(1) Total number of participants offered this advice, based on the garden features they had reported when registering. (2) Percentage of those who did action, based on the number receiving advice, not total participants. |
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Last modified: 17 November 2006 | 
