‘It doesn’t take a lot of work to become biodiverse at home’

The guidance shows that making a garden and home biodiverse need not involve a huge amount of work.

Biodiversity officer Julia Henney said that her number one tip for welcoming wildlife into the garden was to sit back and let things grow.

‘It’s about allowing nature a little bit of space and a little bit of time to flourish. Instead of looking at your lawn and thinking, I want this to be wildflowers, tearing it up and sowing a wildflower meadow, just take a step back, and see what flowers.

‘During “No Mow May” last year, people had orchids popping up in their lawns that they had no idea were there.’

If people do want to do some work, then Miss Henney advised digging a pond.

‘Fresh water is so important for almost all animals. Digging a pond in your garden is one of the best things you can do.

‘It doesn’t even need to be a big. It can be a bucket or a washing bowl, or an old paddling pool. A lot of birds and a lot of insects and bees will come and drink from your pond.

‘If you’re lucky, you might get some freshwater invertebrates, like dragonflies, or amphibians and reptiles, like frogs and newts.

‘The island has quite limited fresh water. We have a lot of quarries in the north of the island, but they’re so deep that actually they don’t have that same variety of plants and things that a lot of our native invertebrates need.’

The guidance does not just offer advice for gardens, but for buildings too.

‘There are some species on our islands that are wholly dependent on buildings. So we, as homeowners, actually have their fate in our hands.

‘I would encourage people to look carefully around their homes and see what wildlife might be there.

‘Most wildlife that’s associated with buildings doesn’t cause any harm. Bats, for example, get a really bad reputation, but they don’t make nests or chew wires. But if you if you turn them out, they might not be able to find a new home. There’s also ways that you can you can invite wildlife in, like bat boxes and bird boxes, to encourage nesting sparrows and housemartins and all sorts of wonderful, wonderful birds.’

And the advice is not just true for homeowners, but businesses too.

‘Some businesses have even more scope because a lot of species like wide open space. So if you are a business owner, perhaps with a large warehouses or greenhouse out in the countryside with big open vistas, you have a fantastic opportunity to encourage and build homes for wildlife. By welcoming wildlife, we can experience a little bit of the joy it brings.’