Following on from the success of David Attenborough’s The Wild Isles programme and as a run up to The Great Big Green Week, Okehampton’s environmental group Wild Oke is encouraging residents to increase the biodiversity of their gardens.

The group is currently encouraging residents to sign up for the Devon Wildlife Trust’s Wildlife Garden Award, along with St James Primary School and Okehampton Community Garden, which challenges participants to make their gardens more wildlife-friendly as many British species are under threat of extinction.

Individuals, families, schools and businesses with outdoor space will be able to sign up for the award and any applicant whose garden meets at least ten of the wildlife-friendly features (listed online) required by the wildlife charity will receive a plaque to display in their outdoor space.

This year, the Great Big Green Week will take place from June 10-18 during which time people from across the UK take part in activities from litter picks to seaweed foraging, in order to raise awareness of climate change and the actions that can be done to combat it.

The first Great Big Green Week took place in September 2021 and saw over 5,000 events take place — the largest event for climate and nature awareness ever to take place in the UK.

Over a quarter of a million people took part last year.

To enter the Wildlife Garden Award or for more information, visit www.devonwildlifetrust.org/wildlife-garden-award.