The UN have declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity.

No one can possibly have failed to pick up on the fact that bee numbers are declining at an alarming rate. But it’s not just bees; many species of flora and fauna are facing imminent extinction - and we all need to act now, today, to try to halt the rate at which the earth’s biodiversity is decreasing. We have caused the problems so it’s up to us to try to put things right before they spiral out of control.

I pledge to do everything I can to support the International Year of Biodiversity at home and in my work with The Big Green Idea. I have started by planting more insect attracting plants in my garden - and by the end of the year I hope to have a more wildlife friendly garden than ever before. Providing habitat and foraging for wildlife is such an easy thing to do and doesn’t need to cost you a penny; all you need to provide habitat for a whole eco-system is a pile of old wood! You can make a tiny pond with an old ice-cream container; drill some 10mm holes in a wooden post to provide nesting for solitary bees or sow borage, lavender and thyme to attract a whole host of beneficial insects. If you have a larger garden then now is the right time to plant fruit trees… lots of them… and if you have a plot of land or a smallholding you could lay hedges and create wildflower meadows and grassland. The sky’s the limit!!

If every one of us pledges to do just one small thing for biodiversity during 2010, together we will make a difference.

Biodiversity is life - pass it on