This year Springwatch are running their most ambitious citizen science project ever. It's called Gardenwatch and to make it a success we need your help. Our gardens cover a combined area the size of Suffolk but we know very little about them. This year we want to change that - we want to know what's in your garden, your patio, you balcony, your allotment or your nearby small green space.
We asked some household names what their garden means to them and this is what they had to say...
Mary Berry
"My aim, is to try and get something of interest in the garden all year round. Something small, to be able to pick for a bunch or two for the house."
Monty Don
"Our UK gardens cover an area larger than our national nature reserves combined which means they are vital as havens for our wildlife. We know a healthy garden is one filled with life but this wildlife has never been mapped – so we know very little of what our gardens hold.
Our UK ecologists need to know exactly what is in them. So Springwatch has teamed up with the British Trust for Ornithology and together are launching “Gardenwatch," a UK wide survey that asks you to go into your gardens and collect information about the wildlife living there."
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
"There’s a lot to do to reverse the biodiversity loss that is affecting Britain as it is the rest of the planet. Government, business, and our farms and landowners all have to work together. But anyone with even a tiny patch of garden can play a part too. Leaving a bit of your garden to run wild will benefit all kinds of wildlife. And supporting Gardenwatch will help you maximise those benefits."
Ben Miller
"A garden is like a living sculpture, where you feel connected to the world around you."
Gaby Roslin
"We have both a robin and a fox that often come to visit our garden. The fox will just sit in the middle of the lawn and look at us. But I make sure to plant for bees, that is very important."
Sandi Toksvig
"I was having a glass of wine the other night in my garden, when a bee flew over and landed on my wrist. It didn't bother me, and the two of us had a nice ten minutes together."
Jo Whiley
"If I had to fill my garden with one thing, it would be people. I have the most fun in my garden. We can eat and play and just being outside makes us feel great."
We want everyone to be this inspired by the amazing world inside their garden, so join us for Gardenwatch and help us to secure a brighter future for UK wildlife. You never know - you might even discover something you never knew you had!