Team Wilder wildlife garden 2024 Filton Community Garden

Name: Filton Community Garden
Category: Community Space
Area: Filton, South Gloucestershire

Filton Community Garden was the wildlife gardening competition WINNER 2024!

Tell us what you or your group love about your garden 
Claire: Filton Community Garden is located next to a busy road (Gloucester Road North & Link Road), providing a peaceful retreat for the surrounding neighbourhoods in what is a very built up area. The garden brings together the community and offers a welcoming environment for both people and animals. It became a vital refuge during periods of lockdown, offering a serene setting with seating for individuals to relax and enjoy the tranquillity.

Our inclusive and welcoming gardening sessions mean that everyone can get involved in the upkeep of the garden, which also has excellent mental health benefits. We also have a number of community beds where we invite the community to get involved in growing. 

What makes your garden wildlife friendly?
Claire: We have lots of features that make the garden wildlife friendly. We have left some areas of the garden undisturbed, including log areas to provide shelter for animals and insects to hide and hibernate. We provide bird boxes, bat boxes, hedgehog dens & bug houses. We ask visitors to keep dogs on the lead. 

Our planting areas cater to a diverse range of pollinators, with shady spots, sunny patches, and a bog garden supporting hundreds of plant species. We have many mature trees providing shelter and shade. We also have fruit trees and hedges which provide food for birds. Our perimeter fence is open, and has gaps or holes to allow access for animals.

What wildlife have you seen?
The garden is a haven for wildlife and we have seen a variety of insects, bees, butterflies, birds as well as bats, foxes, hedgehogs, frogs, and squirrels.

Comments from the Team Wilder Community Ecologist: Filton Community Garden is an oasis of habitats for wildlife that also caters to the varied needs of the community by retaining open spaces where possible. The community owned beds, wildflower patch and raised bed seating area show community ownership with people at the heart of it.

The wildflower meadow was still partly in bloom on our visit (September 2024) and provided a nice thick area for smaller mammals and reptiles to take refuge.

Mini meadow advice

Step-by-step mini meadow creation

Community wildflower meadows

My personal favourite was the pond, a smart innovation using an old IBC container to provide the lining and also the cage to prevent accidents over the top. The planting of this mature pond was complementary and provided great connectivity for amphibians in the park.

Team Wilder pond advice

My recommendation for improving the park would be to consider planting native hedgerow along the north wall. This would connect the two defunct hedges in this corner, provide good habitat for wildlife and also increase the abundance of berries for birds over winter.