Taking action for the environment: Households encouraging wildlife in their garden
Updated 10 December 2024
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/england-biodiversity-indicators/taking-action-for-the-environment-households-encouraging-wildlife-in-their-garden
Last updated: 2024
Latest data available: 2023
Introduction
This indicator provides an estimate for the number of households in England that encourage wildlife in their garden.
The data used to produce this indicator previously came from the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment Survey (MENE). This survey was replaced by the People and Nature Survey (PaNS), which started data collection in 2020. This year’s update of the indicator with PaNS data is not directly comparable to the MENE data due to methodological changes (see the comparison report for more details).
Note that some data in this indicator may be collected over a financial year (that is, April in one year to March in the next). In the most recent year, data runs from April 2023 to December 2023.
Data for this indicator can be found in the published datafile.
Type of indicator
Benefit indicator
Type of official statistics
Official statistic
Assessment of change
Due to the change in methodology in 2019/20 there is insufficient data to make long or short term assessments based on comparable data.
Key results
In 2020/21, 92% of PaNS respondents said they owned a garden, shared a garden with others or had access to a private or communal outdoor space (for example, an allotment); this has remained steady in 2023 (Figures 1 and 2). Of those with access to a garden or outdoor space, in 2020/21 35% agreed that ‘they encouraged wildlife’ in these areas (for example, through feeding areas or planting). This figure has experienced little to no change in 2023.
Figure 1: Percentage of the population with access to a private garden, private communal garden or private outdoor space in England, 2020/21 to 2023
Source: Natural England, People and Nature Survey for England
Notes about Figure 1
- The methodology changed in 2019/2020 to switch between the MENE survey and PaNS and so responses between the two surveys are not directly comparable.
- Data was taken from question 59 in the PaNS data (see Technical annex for more details) .
Figure 2: Percentage of the population who have access to a garden or outdoor space AND encourage wildlife in that space in England, 2020/21 to 2023
Source: Natural England, People and Nature Survey for England
Notes about Figure 2
- The methodology changed in 2019/2020 to switch between the MENE survey and PaNS and so responses between the two surveys are not directly comparable.
- Data was taken from question 59b in the PaNS data (see Technical annex for more details).
Table 1: Number of respondents who responded to the questions in Figure 1
| Survey year | Number of responses |
|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 9,684 |
| 2021/22 | 10,024 |
| 2022/23 | 10,057 |
| 2023 | 7,620 |
Further detail
The PaNS survey also records the actions undertaken to encourage wildlife (Figure 3). In 2023, of those reporting that they undertook one or more of the garden behaviours specified in Figure 2, 97% reported that they provide food for wild animals such as birds, 90% reported that they plant / maintain pollinator-friendly plants and 83% stated that they maintain plants with berries/fruits.
Figure 3: Percentage of respondents engaging with different wildlife gardening behaviours in England, 2020/21 to 2023
Source: Natural England, People and Nature Survey for England
Notes about Figure 3
- Data from question Q61 In the garden or space you have access to, how often do you do the following? (Never, rarely, sometimes, often, very often, not applicable, don’t know, prefer not to say).
- Results from Q61 were summarised so that answers from ‘rarely’ - ‘very often’ counted as engaging in that activity, whereas answers including ‘never’, ‘don’t know’, ‘prefer not to say’ or ‘not applicable’ were not counted.
Table 2: Number of respondents who responded to the questions in Figure 2
| Survey year | Number of responses |
|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 8,852 |
| 2021/22 | 9,183 |
| 2022/23 | 9,258 |
| 2023 | 6,952 |
Relevance
Gardens offer a good case study on the benefits and impacts that individual everyday decisions can have on the natural environment. It is estimated that 22.7 million households in the UK have access to a garden. Gardens cover up to a quarter of the land surface in our towns and cities (a total area of 432,924 hectares) and they contain about 3 million ponds and almost a quarter of all trees outside woodlands (Owen, 2010). They also support a wide range of plants and animals, one study identified 2,673 different species in a medium-sized garden (Davies et al., 2009).
Web links for further information
- People and Nature Survey for England
- PaNS survey methods and technical details
- Comparability between the People and Nature Survey and the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment Report
- Natural England: Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment, People and Nature Survey for England
References
- Davies, Z. G., Fuller, R. A., Loram, A., Irvine, K. N., Sims, V. and Gaston, K. J. (2009). A national scale inventory of resource provision for biodiversity within domestic gardens. Biological Conservation, Vol. 142 No. 4 pp. 761-771.
- Owen, J. (2010). Wildlife of a garden: a thirty year study. Royal Horticultural Society, London
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the many survey respondents who have contributed by providing data and to the many colleagues who have helped produce this indicator, particularly Natural England.
Technical annex
Methodology
The People and Nature Surveys are accredited official statistics reporting how children and adults interact with the natural environment. In this indicator, we use data from the adult survey, Module 5: Gardens and gardening behaviours. Data were weighted by the specific weight provided for that module detailed in the Weighting guidance. It should be noted that for the historic MENE indicator, unweighted responses were used.
More information about the PaNS survey, including sample size, and the exact wording of the questions, can be found in the survey methods and technical details.
The Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment survey focused on time spent in the natural environment and included many of the same or similar questions on gardening behaviours to PaNS. We have endeavored to keep the methodology consistent across the two datasets, but we are unable to compare directly between them due to methodological changes in the survey.
Survey questions
Below are the components of questions included in the composite indicator (Figure 1).
Q59 Which of the following best applies to you…?
Please select all that apply
- I have access to a private garden
- I have access to a shared garden
- I have access to a private outdoor space but not a garden (balcony, yard, patio area)
- I have access to an allotment at a council / community run site
- I don’t have access to a garden or allotment [exclusive]
- Don’t know
- Prefer not to say
Q59b Thinking about this [garden/space/garden or space] which of the following statements, if any, do you agree with?
Please select all that apply
- I encourage wildlife in my [garden/space/garden or space] (e.g. feeding birds)
The following question was used to produce Figure 2. For the purpose of actions, results from Q61 were summarised so that answers from ‘rarely’ - ‘very often’ counted as engaging in that activity, whereas answers including ‘never’, ‘don’t know’, ‘prefer not to say’ or ‘not applicable’ were not counted.
Q61 In the [garden/space/garden or space] you have access to, how often do you do the following?
- I plant / maintain pollinator-friendly plants
- I add log piles or other materials that can be used as a home or shelter by wildlife
- I maintain plants with berries/fruits
- I provide food for wild animals such as birds
- I use a water butt and watering can to water my garden.
Please select one answer only
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very often
- Not applicable
- Don’t know
- Prefer not to say
Recent developments
This indicator has been updated for the first time with new data since 2019. This new data is taken from PaNS, which differs from the MENE survey in several key respects. Differences in sample size and selection, survey mode (face-to-face vs online) and question content mean that a meaningful comparison cannot be made between the two surveys. Wherever possible, care has been taken to apply the same methodology to the two datasets. Historic MENE data is still presented in this indicator for information but care should be taken not to draw parallels between the first part of the timeseries (2014/15-2018/19, MENE) and the latter period (2020/21-2023, PaNS). For more details of the differences between PaNS and MENE, see the comparison report.
Key differences in the questions between PaNS and MENE are presented in Table 1 below. During the update to PaNS, an additional option for garden access was added: ‘I have access to an allotment at a council / community run site’. This was not counted as access to a garden to maintain consistency with the previous version of the indicator.
Table 3: Comparability between PaNS and MENE questions used in the awareness, support and understanding indicator
| MENE question | MENE answers | PaNS question | PaNS answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which of the following best applies to you …? | I have access to a private garden I have access to a private communal garden I have access to a private outdoor space but not a garden (balcony, yard, patio area) I don’t have access to a garden |
Which of the following best applies to you …? | 1. I have access to a private garden 2. I have access to a shared garden 3. I have access to a private outdoor space but not a garden (balcony, yard, patio area) 4. I have access to an allotment at a council / community run site 5. I don’t have access to a garden or allotment [exclusive] 6. Don’t know 7. Prefer not to say |
| Thinking about your garden or communal garden, which of the following statements, if any, do you agree with? Select all those that apply to you | I encourage wildlife in my garden | Thinking about this garden or space which of the following statements, if any, do you agree with? | 7. I encourage wildlife in my [garden/space/garden or space] (e.g. feeding birds) |
| - | - | In the garden or space you have access to, how often do you do the following? a) I plant / maintain pollinator-friendly plants b) I add log piles or other materials that can be used as a home or shelter by wildlife c) I maintain plants with berries/fruits d) I provide food for wild animals such as birds e) I use a water butt and watering can to water my garden. |
1. Never 2. Rarely 3. Sometimes 4. Often 5. Very often 6. Not applicable 7. Don’t know 8. Prefer not to say |
Development plan
In line with our commitment to the Code of Practice for Statistics, we are keen to hear from users of these statistics, please send your feedback to: Enviro.Statistics@defra.gov.uk. Once we have received feedback on the usefulness of this statistic, we will continue further development.
Historic indicator: Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment
In 2014/15, 87% of MENE respondents said they owned a garden, shared a garden with others or had access to a private outdoor space (for example, balcony, yard or patio area); this increased slightly to 88% of respondents in 2018/19 (Figure 4). Of those with access to a garden or outdoor space, in 2014/15 35% agreed that ‘they encouraged wildlife’ in these areas (for example, through feeding areas or planting). This figure also increased slightly in 2018/19 to 37% of respondents with access to a garden or outdoor space (Figure 5).
Figure 4: Percentage of the population with access to a private garden, private communal garden or private outdoor space in England, 2014/15 to 2018/19
Figure 5: Percentage of the population who have access to a garden or outdoor space AND encourage wildlife in that space in England, 2014/15 to 2018/19
