A wildlife-friendly garden designed with multiple habitat types can support dozens of species and provide genuine welfare benefits through food, shelter and safe habitat in urban environments.
The wildlife-friendly garden, taken seriously, can achieve remarkable welfare impact for urban wildlife species that are increasingly dependent on garden habitats as natural habitats deteriorate. Each element of a well-designed garden serves multiple species — a pond provides drinking and bathing water for birds, breeding habitat for amphibians, and hunting opportunity for dragonflies. A log pile provides habitat for stag beetles, slowworms, hedgehogs, centipedes and many fungi and invertebrate species simultaneously. Native plants support the insects that support the birds that support the mammals. The cumulative welfare benefit of a well-designed garden, sustained over decades, substantially exceeds individual wildlife interventions.