A third of Brits unaware of biodiversity meaning
A report by outdoor power product supplier Husqvarna has revealed that a third (33%) of Brits are unaware of the meaning of ‘biodiversity’.
The study, which surveyed more than 4,000 garden owners across eight European countries, showcases that familiarity of biodiversity is relatively low in the UK compared to the other markets, with 37% of UK participants acknowledging that they don’t know what actions they could take to make their green space more biodiverse. 41% also admit that biodiversity has a minor or no effect on their choices when planning garden projects, despite ongoing warnings from leading scientists and experts on the impact of biodiversity loss on the planet.
When looking at the reasons for minimal action, 15% of Brits believe that factoring biodiversity into their garden is too complicated or too time-consuming, while just over a tenth (11%) said it was due to not having the correct tools for the job. Of all UK residents within the study, 12% confessed that they are not likely to consider biodiversity in the future.
Two-thirds (66%) of respondents say they would like to learn more about biodiversity and how they can do their bit. During a period of political change in the UK, 79% see garden owners as mainly or partly responsible for maintaining biodiversity, compared to only 12% who placed responsibility on the government and politicians and 5% on private companies.
“Our new study identifies a real need for education on biodiversity in the UK as it is more important than ever that homeowners feel confident in implementing small, simple changes in their gardens to contribute to biodiversity” saya Patrik Jägenstedt, director of technology & advanced development at Husqvarna. “This can seem like a daunting or complicated task if this is completely new to you and your garden, but it’s a lot easier than it seems. For example, allowing parts of the lawn to grow at different lengths is a great way to help your local wildlife – it creates a habitat for native plants, bees, and other pollinators.
“Husqvarna has developed several technologies that empower gardeners to support biodiversity. For example, our AIM Technology allows gardeners to design and maintain fully rewilded meadows side-by-side with a perfectly cut lawn and create zones with higher cutting lengths. By consciously making these kinds of changes, collectively we can make a big difference in enabling biodiversity to thrive.”
