Rewilding: Bringing nature back into your garden

You may have heard about the term rewilding, but what does it actually mean?

Rewilding is the large-scale restoration of ecosystems, with the aim of nature being able to take care of itself.

This process is aimed to aid the environment and the climate we are currently facing, aiding communities, and reversing biodiversity loss among many other benefits which you can read about on Rewilding Britain’s blog.

No Mow

Although the notion of rewilding is part of a larger project, like most movements, it starts at home. During lockdown the term rewilding began to be used frequently for those who decided to refrain from mowing their lawn, ‘No Mow May’ was trending and more and more people were participating. But why?

Initially, when ‘No Mow May’ began people took the opportunity to take some time away from mowing the lawn and saved themselves time and effort, but there are also a number of environmental benefits.

Carbon emissions reduction

One of the main environmental benefits relates to those who use fueled machines, refraining from mowing your lawn or even a part of your lawn will aid in the reduction of carbon emissions, the extent of which has been discussed in some of our previous blog posts.

This environmental benefit can be achieved outside of rewilding with the switch to a battery powered machine, read more about making the switch.

Biodiversity

Improving biodiversity is one of the main reasons, refraining from mowing your lawn allows different species to surface. Although it may not seem like a large impact on your own lawn, when done as a collective it does make a difference. With over 15 million lawns in Britain alone, it covers a lot more space than you might think.

Pollinators

Alongside the different species of flowers, it’s also what they attract. Flowers attract more bees, butterflies and pollinators to our lawn and with insect numbers going down yearly, this is something which I just as important.

Read more about why rewilding is important here.

How can you participate?

While some people have continued with ‘No Mow May’ into the later months, or have turned it into an annual tradition, there are others which have found a balance that works for them.

As you might be thinking, allowing your lawn to grow thick and wild isn’t for everyone, you might use your garden a lot, like to spend time on it or simply prefer the look of a cut lawn.

This is why a lot of participants are dedicating just a part of their garden to rewilding, while keeping the rest of their lawn maintained. This practical approach allows them to still enjoy their garden while aiding the environment and often bringing a lot more color to the garden.

As well as simply refraining from mowing there are other little steps people are opting to take to help bring nature back into their garden, such as

• Creating bug hotels
• Leaving feed out for the birds
• Taking a more laxed approach to weeding

Learn more about how to re-wild your garden

But…. I have a robotic mower?

If you’re someone who doesn’t mow their lawn anyway because you leave it up to your robotic friend, you may still be able to participate.

Industry leader Husqvarna, have recently released a new mode for their robotic mower, Rewilding mode. This mode uses GPS to set aside 10% of your lawn to be unmown, encouraging biodiversity and more pollinators.

Husqvarna are a company which are always forward thinking when it comes to their environmental impact. Husqvarna zero emissions robotic mowers are a particular favorite for those seeking to reduce their carbon emissions while simultaneously making their own lives easier.

With rewilding mode, they have considered the larger impact of consumers utalising this mode throughout Europe. Read more about the launch of their new mode on their website.