“If all UK gardens were turned into nature-friendly places, it would create a wildlife haven of over 430,000 hectares in size, more than four times the surface area of all national nature reserves combined.”
The Wild Bunch is open to anyone who is interested in gardening for wildlife in our private gardens and shared local green spaces. Championing the idea of our gardens and green spaces being inter-connected parts of a much larger wild space that is owned by our wild neighbours, the group shares ideas, hosts monthly gatherings and holds public events that promote wildlife-friendly approaches in our neighbourhoods.
Gardening for Wildlife guide
There are lots of useful ideas in our Gardening for Wildlife booklet that you can download and share with your neighbours. Take the quiz to see how wildlife friendly your garden already is.
Upcoming dates
Wild Bunch gatherings take place on the third Thursday of every month, 1.30pm – 2.30pm at Frome Town Hall (with an option to join online via Zoom).
20th April – Food Growing – Allotment site tbc
How can we grow food efficiently while still being mindful of the needs of wildlife? Experienced gardeners give us their top tips – bring yours to share too. We’ll be on location at an allotment site tbc – sign up for details.
18th May – Wildlife by Water – Vallis Vale/Egford Brook
This month Wild Bunch will be on location at Vallis Vale, learning how to take river samples and looking at the wildlife that the riverside environment caters for.
15th June – Pond Dipping – Welshmill Pond
A repeat of last year’s popular pond dipping session at Welshmill pond. Jo Morris will guide us through the dipping process and we can examine together what we find and look at how things have changed in the pond over a year. It will be an opportunity to ask questions about our own ponds and pond plans too.
20th July – Bees and Butterflies – Rodden Meadow
On location in Rodden Meadow, local butterfly and wildflower experts will take us on a guided walk, hoping to spot butterflies and the flowers that feed them.
August – No gathering this month but look out for more information on some summer holiday wildlife activities to take part in.
21st September – Hedgehog Awareness – Town Hall with online option
Laura Batts from Prickles Hedgehog rescue centre will be leading a session on hedgehog awareness, at a time of year when we need to make sure our local hedgehog population are well fed and sheltered, prior to hibernation.
19th October – Fungi – Woodland location tbc
Local fungi experts will take us on a guided walk, seeing what we can spot and looking more broadly at the function of fungi in our local habitats.
16th November – Compost and Leaf Mulch – Loop Compost at the Yard
A look at the wonder of compost and what we should be doing in our gardens to maximise its potential. Peter from the Loop Compost project extols the virtues of the rich compost made from food waste and Jo Morris talks to us about leaf mulch.
The Wild Bunch plan to support projects that create wildlife friendly environments in streets, such as bird and bat box building, hedgehog highway routes, shelter boxes, planters. Watch this space for other events that you and your neighbours could get involved in.
Wild about Frome at home
The Wild Bunch are encouraging residents to re-wild parts of their gardens as this will encourage wildlife and boost diversity. They are offering free “Wild about Frome” stickers which can be placed in your window or on a stake in your garden to let neighbours and passers-by know that you’re supporting the campaign. Stickers are available from the Town Hall.
Wildlife Mapping in our communities
We are currently working to map the wildlife in the Frome community. Visit our Wild About Frome page for details on how you can get involved.
Frome Hoedown
In addition to the Wild Bunch, Frome Town Council is also supporting Frome Hoedown – a community initiative to hoe and weed our streets in place of Mendip District Council using Roundup weedkiller.
The Wild Bunch Column
We’ve made the press! The Frome Times hosts our bi-weekly column where we talk about seasonal changes and what we can do in our gardens and neighbourhoods to support our local wildlife.
