WILDLIFE IN YOUR GARDEN: How Rewilding UK Gardens Can Help Bring Wildlife Back, Experts Say

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​15 January 2026
By James Hamilton

The Knepp rewilding project in West Sussex. Credit: Knepp Estate

​​Rewilding your garden is not about neglect. It is about welcoming wildlife, accepting a less tidy look and learning to think like the animals that shape nature.

Rewilding a garden does not mean shutting the gate and walking away. Instead, it involves thoughtful, hands-on choices that support wildlife and reflect natural processes, while letting go of the idea that gardens must always be neat and controlled. This is the central message of the inaugural Wilding Gardens Conference, taking place on 15 to 16 January at the University of Manchester. The event aims to challenge the growing belief that rewilding simply means ‘doing nothing’.

With an estimated 23 million private gardens across the UK, together covering an area three times larger than all National Parks combined, domestic green spaces offer enormous potential to help reverse wildlife decline and respond to climate change.

Award-winning conservationist, author and rewilding advocate Isabella Tree of the Knepp Estate is one of the leading voices at the conference. She says: “At a time when wildlife is declining faster in the UK than almost anywhere else in the world, every patch of green space matters. Even small spaces including balconies, courtyards, school yards or window boxes can be valuable in supporting wildlife. Imagine if every gardener in the UK began to think of themselves as the keystone species at the heart of an ecosystem. By working with nature rather than against it, gardeners can play a powerful role in bringing wildlife back.”
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The Wilding Gardens Conference brings together leading figures in horticulture and conservation, including Tom Stuart-Smith, James Hitchmough, Adam Hunt, Lulu Urquhart and Charlie Harpur, alongside Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell of the Knepp rewilding project in West Sussex. The keynote speaker is Craig Bennett, CEO of The Wildlife Trusts. Speakers will share personal insights and practical guidance for creating richer habitats that attract insects, birds and other wildlife into everyday spaces.

Wilding a garden can require just as much care and attention as a conventional one. The difference lies in the intention. Rather than focusing on constant tidying or control, gardeners prioritise wildlife, allowing natural processes to shape healthier and more diverse ecosystems.

In the wild, animals such as bison, wild ponies, deer, wild boar and beavers act as keystone species. Through grazing, browsing, digging and dam building, they disturb the land in ways that improve soil, spread seeds and create a wide range of habitats. These dynamic landscapes support a wealth of wildlife.

Gardeners can play a similar role at home. By acting as the keystone species, they can create a patchwork of shelter, food and nesting opportunities for native species, even in small gardens. Many people already copy these natural processes without realising it. Pruning roses mimics the browsing of deer or ponies, encouraging stronger growth and more flowers, while digging out deep-rooted weeds echoes the rooting behaviour of wild boar. Understanding how plants respond to these actions can free gardeners to accept a more natural, wildlife-friendly look.

Wilding Gardens is ultimately about a shift in mindset. It moves beyond simply being ‘nature-friendly’ to show how a wilder approach can create more resilient habitats for wildlife, better cope with climate change and disease, and offer people a deeper sense of connection, calm and enjoyment.

Lulu Urquhart of landscape designers Urquhart Hunt says: “Now is such an important time for gardeners as we start to lean into creating gardens that work just as well for our fauna as they have done for plants. As designers this is now a key aspect of how we approach our projects. Nature's well-being is our well-being.”

The conference will also include a closing session with Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester, focusing on the city’s work to transform urban green spaces for people and wildlife.

Already sold out with more than 500 attendees, the Wilding Gardens Conference is the first event of its kind to show that rewilding is active, practical and achievable, and that it can begin right outside the back door.

Craig Bennett, CEO of The Wildlife Trusts and keynote speaker, says: “Wilding Gardens is a conference for anyone with a garden, schoolyard, balcony or window box; with influence over a city park, a roadside verge, an orchard or a churchyard in the country. It’s a conference of evidence, ideas and collaboration, and above all, hope.”

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