Creating a wildlife garden provides many environmental, economic and social benefits.
Environmental: Wildlife gardens are recognised globally as important for wildlife conservation. With increased urbanisation throughout Australia, our wildlife is rapidly losing critical habitat and many animals are now experiencing dramatic declines in abundance. The kinds of animals visiting our gardens are also changing. For example, many of the birds found in our gardens are either introduced pests or consist of a few dominant native species that drive out smaller birds. Creating your own wildlife garden can help reverse this trend. Each wildlife garden will add to an increasing network of suitable habitat for our native animals throughout Melbourne and increase the diversity and abundance of our wildlife in our cities.
Laughing kookaburras are a common sight in many suburban gardens
Common mynas are common in Australia and one of the worst bird pests globally
Economic: Gardens that attract wildlife typically use native Australian plant species which are adapted to our harsh, dry climate. Converting your garden from one dominated by non-native species to a native garden will require less watering and reduce the need to constantly buy plants to replace dying ones. Gardens for wildlife therefore save you money in the long-term.
Social: Many people appreciate living close to nature and research has shown that this can improve well-being. Wildlife gardens can therefore have important social benefits for people of all ages.