Garden Wildlife talk with Mark Pollitt proves a big success
July's Citizen Science talk was fully booked with gardeners from the Glenkens and the wider area coming together in Kirkpatrick Durham Village Hall to learn how to make their gardens into havens for wildlife.
The talk on the evening of July 9th was delivered by Mark Pollitt, manager of South West Scotland Environmental Information Centre (SWSEIC). Mark shared a number of tips on making a wider variety of wildlife feel at home in the garden, as well as how to record visiting wildlife (visit SWSEIC’s website to find out how) and some species to look out for, including stoats and the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly.
There are a few national, garden-based citizen science campaigns calling for participation over the summer, including the Big Butterfly Count and the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, and the Big Hedgehog Map is a place where you can record hedgehog sightings as well as finding out more about making your garden hedgehog-friendly. Links to all these in the box below.
With thanks to Mark for giving such an interesting and engaging talk, to Kirkpatrick Durham Village Hall for hosting the event, and to the Galloway Glens Legacy Project for funding this talk, which is part of the Glenkens Community Spaces Network’s 2026 Year of Sustainable Volunteering.
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Garden wildlife tips:
Think about habitats for all lifestages for the wildlife that visits your garden, including places to shelter, nest and hibernate, sources of food and water, and moving in and out of your garden.
If you don’t already have a pond/water feature, adding one can be one of the most beneficial things that you can do to boost garden wildlife.
If you only have a small space, you could make a mini-pond: https://earthwatch.org.uk/resources/make-a-mini-pond/
The Million Ponds Project has advice on pond creation for amphibians and reptiles here: https://content.freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/2013/09/Amphibians-_Common-Toad-Great-Crested-Newt-and-Grass-Snake_-new-logo.pdf
And the British Dragonfly Society has lots of information about improving garden habitats for dragonflies, including how to dig a pond for dragonflies: https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/get-involved/resources/habitat-management-and-species-guidebooks/
Plants for Pollinators through the year
https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/research/plants-for-pollinators
Citizen Science activities that you can take part in in your garden this summer!
The Big Butterfly Count: 17th July to 9th August: https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/about
UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme: April - October: https://ukpoms.org.uk/fit-counts
And at any time of the year, if you spot a hedgehog in your garden, add it to the Big Hedgehog Map!
Or join other volunteers at Carsphairn Community Woodland to take part in citizen science monitoring on:
Sunday 26th July (Butterflies)
Sunday 30th August (Pollinators)
Find our more at: https://glenkens.scot/glenkens-news/carsphairn-woodland-nature-activities-2026