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This would be good for making children aware.

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The researchers found that there were up to 70% fewer pollinators (insects), up to 90% fewer flower visits and an overall pollination reduction of up to 31% in test plants when pollution, including diesel exhaust, was present.

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Bees: Air pollution prevents pollinating insects from finding flowers

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Study finds that pollutants found in diesel fumes may cause problems for plants who rely on insects to help them reproduce

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I like this site for a holistic approach.

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I like this site for a holistic approach.

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What is the RHS doing?

The RHS Sustainability Strategy: within the decade, we aim to become net positive for nature and for people, and to encourage and enable gardeners to do the same.

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK's leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone's life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.

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Gardening for the environment / RHS Gardening / RHS Gardening

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Changes you make in the garden can help protect our environment. See what steps you can take to be even greener in the garden.

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Keeping It Green - Bees And Air Pollution

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Thought this one looked good.

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Wildflowers for bees: how to attract bees to your garden

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Bees are disappearing at an alarming rate. Explore our simple steps to help them in your garden, including eight bee-friendly wildflowers you can plant.

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Dr Sampson, part of the university's air pollution bacteria team led by Prof Julie Morrissey, said: "We know that pollution is a massive issue globally and we know that bee decline seems to be increasing over the last few years.

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Leicester study investigates pollution effect on bees

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Dr Hannah Sampson says air pollution's impact on bees could have a knock on effect for humans.

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Attract more bees and pollinators to your garden! 🦋 Pollinators are a huge factor to the success of any garden. They bring more life to your garden and create better yield from your fruiting fruits and veggies. 🌺 Native plants are especially helpful because not only do they support a variety of native wildlife they help stabilize the soil and environment around them. ⛲️ Adding fountains, bird baths and bee baths or drinking areas can help attract and retain beneficial pollinators by providing more of the resources they need. 🐝 And keep the bees and other beneficials on your property by learning about and providing shelters for them to live and reproduce.  🌱 Bring in the pollinators and native wildlife into your garden and watch it explode with life right before your eyes.  . . . #pollinators #pollinator #pollinatorgarden#pollinatorplant #nativeplants #bees #beebath #beehouse #beehouse🐝 #pollinatorgardens #pollinatorhabitat #pollinatorplants #pollinatorfriendly 

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@earthnailsandtails
Attract more bees and pollinators to your garden! 🦋 Pollinators are a huge factor to the success of any garden. They bring more life to your garden and create better yield from your fruiting fruits and veggies. 🌺 Native plants are especially helpful because not only do they support a variety of native wildlife they help stabilize the soil and environment around them. ⛲️ Adding fountains, bird baths and bee baths or drinking areas can help attract and retain beneficial pollinators by providing more of the resources they need. 🐝 And keep the bees and other beneficials on your property by learning about and providing shelters for them to live and reproduce. 🌱 Bring in the pollinators and native wildlife into your garden and watch it explode with life right before your eyes. . . . #pollinators #pollinator #pollinatorgarden#pollinatorplant #nativeplants #bees #beebath #beehouse #beehouse🐝 #pollinatorgardens #pollinatorhabitat #pollinatorplants #pollinatorfriendly
♬ original sound - Earth, Nails & Tails

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Once you have taken stock of your plant survivors, spare a thought for some of the other creatures in your garden, in particular the bees.

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Whatever size your garden is, it helps the environment in lots of ways.

But, of course, we could all be doing more to help reduce the human impact on the environment and the world we live in.

Climate change is a very real threat to the human race, but it doesn't necessarily mean that we have to completely change the way we live in order for us to have less impact on the environment.

Some things are very simple to do and often they don't just benefit the environment, but will help us all financially, too.

In our latest article, we'll be exploring some of the ways in which you can help the environment in your garden.

1. Create a Rain Garden

Creating a rain garden helps to prevent surface water run-off from being channelled through storm drains.

Processing the vast amount of water that travels through our drainage systems consumes large amounts of energy, which in turn has a significant impact on the environment.

In addition, by returning rainwater to the ground, it benefits the water table, and by capturing the water, moisture is returned to the atmosphere via the process of evaporation.

But what exactly is a rain garden?

A rain garden is usually an area of ground that receives surface water run-off from buildings and hard landscaped areas, such as patios and paths. It could be that hard surfaces are angled and drainpipes are directed to send run-off to the rain garden.

It's very easy to create a rain garden and it will create an interesting feature in any garden.

Prior to planting, you can improve the quality of the soil by digging in organic material, such as recycled green waste.

By then planting moisture-loving plants such as herbaceous perennials, shrubs and grasses, you'll be able to create an area that not only looks attractive, but thrives, with little extra work on your part.

To finish off your rain garden, add bark chippings to further help the absorption of moisture and keep potential weeds at bay.

2. Plant More Plants, Shrubs & Trees

Not only do plants, shrubs and trees enhance the look of your garden and make it a much nicer place to be, but they also help the environment, too.

Carbon dioxide loving plants and trees will help to reduce pollution in the air, via oxygenic photosynthesis.

Oxygenic photosynthesis is the process by which plants absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into oxygen. The oxygen is then returned to the atmosphere.

The more plants and trees you have in the garden, the more you will be encouraging the local wildlife, too.

Birds, insects and other animals all need plants and trees to survive.

Plants can be sources of food, shelter and even places to hide from local predators.

Growing and tending the living greenery in your garden will go a long towards helping the local environment.

3. Use Native Plants

When choosing plants and trees for your garden, it's very important to choose native species.

This is because they will thrive much better in your garden than foreign species.

Often, you'll need a whole host of potentially harmful chemicals, such as fertilisers and pesticides, in order to help non-native plants to grow and survive.

These chemicals are harmful to the environment.

Native species will typically thrive with very little maintenance, too.

If you want to find UK species of plants, the RHS gardening website is a great resource.

4. Grow Your Own Fruit & Veg

Growing your own fruits and vegetables will mean that you'll no longer need to visit the supermarket so much.

The fruit and vegetables sold in supermarkets may have travelled thousands of miles to reach your local store.

This uses up a lot of energy and has a high CO ² footprint.

Creating a fruit and vegetable patch in your garden is also a lot of fun. You can create a raised bed by using reclaimed railway sleepers. That both looks great, and reduces the strain on your back when you're tending to your patch.

You can find seeds online for a whole range of fruits and vegetables at a very low cost and you'll be surprised at just how much you can save by growing your own.

It's great to get out in the garden and get your hands dirty, and the satisfaction of preparing and eating your own fruit and veg is well worth the effort.

Why not enlist the help of your kids, too? It's a great way to get them outside and away from their laptops and tablets, and who knows - they may just learn a thing or two.

By growing your own, you'll help to reduce your own carbon footprint, save money, and have fun in the process. It's a win-win situation.

5. Install Artificial Grass

You may be surprised to hear that artificial grass is good for the environment.

There are several reasons for this.

Firstly, unlike real grass, artificial turf doesn't need mowing.

This means fewer CO ² emissions caused by lawnmowers and strimmers, which are harmful to the environment.

Also, there will be no need to add any form of potentially hazardous chemicals, such as fertiliser, pesticide or weedkiller, all of which are potentially harmful not only to the environment, but also to your family and pets.

Finally, artificial grass doesn't need to be watered.

During the summer months, keeping a real lawn sufficiently watered means that you may need around 2 cubic metres of water, per week, for a 100m ² lawn.

Using such large quantities of water is bad for the environment and can leave you facing a large water bill, too.

If you are considering having an artificial lawn installed, why not view our range of artificial turf products? You can also request your free consultation with your local NeoGrass Approved Installer.

6. Make a Compost Bin

Creating a compost bin is a great way to help the environment.

Rather than your food waste ending up in a landfill site, why not use it to create an organic compost that your plants will love?

It's the most sustainable way in which we can all deal with food and garden waste.

Compost bins are inexpensive to buy or you could even make one from recycled pallets.

Virtually all manner of food waste can be recycled and used to create compost.

It's not just fruit and vegetable peelings and leftovers that can go in your compost bin, either; egg shells, egg boxes, tea bags, coffee grounds, wool and cardboard boxes make for great compost, too.

The best thing about having a compost bin is that your plants will absolutely love the nutrient-packed organic matter you'll be able to provide them with, and what's more, once you have your compost bin set up, it'll never cost you a penny.

7. Install a Green Roof

There are a number of reasons why green roofs are great for the environment and it's little wonder that they are becoming increasingly popular in urban areas.

The potential is, of course, huge for further green roofs to be constructed throughout the country.

When you look at aerial photos of towns, it's difficult not to notice the huge amounts of space that roofs cover. It's barren space, but it can easily be converted into a green roof that will benefit the environment.

With an ever-growing population, and more and more homes being built on green belt sites, it's vital that we build as many green roofs as possible.

Green roof systems have many advantages.

Firstly, they help to reduce surface water run-off by absorbing a high percentage of rainfall that hits your roof, therefore drastically reducing the amount of rainfall that ends up in our drainage systems and preventing flooding.

A green roof is also a fantastic way to insulate your home and will certainly help to reduce your heating bill, a win-win for your wallet and the environment.

It will also help to reduce noise and air pollution. They've even been shown to reduce people's stress levels!

Installing a green roof needn't be expensive, but the potential benefits to the environment could be huge.

Conclusion

It's important that we all play our part in looking after the world that will live in and ensuring that future generations can enjoy the planet in the same way we do.

We can all do our bit and together we can make the planet a cleaner environment for humans and wildlife to thrive in - starting with what we do in our gardens.

Hopefully, this article has given you some ideas and inspiration for how you can help the environment.

But now we want to hear from you. Do you have any other ideas as to how we can help the environment and the local wildlife in our gardens?

If so, leave us a comment below and join in the discussion

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7 Ways to Help the Environment in Your Garden

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By doing our bit and working together we can make the planet a cleaner environment for humans and wildlife to thrive in - starting with what we do in our gardens. In this article we'll give you 7 ideas to show you how you can help the environment in your garden.

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Once you have taken stock of your plant survivors, spare a thought for some of the other creatures in your garden, in particular the bees.

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What's all the buzz about?

You're lazing on the grass, mid-summer, sun shining down on your closed eyelids. In the distance you hear a little buzz, meandering around your head before happily plonking down on a nearby flower head. It's clear - not everyone is having a relaxing day, someone has work to do...

Many of us have heard about honeybees and bumblebees, but did you know that the UK is home to 270 species of bees? And each one plays a special role in keeping our meadows, woodlands, heathlands and hedgerows alive. But they are at risk, and now, they need us to return the favour.

Why do we need Bees?

Bees are our small but mighty winged workers. They are part of the backbone of our wild isles, allowing the UK to support a rich diversity of plants and wildlife.

Our bees are word-class pollinators. Why is pollination important? The food we need to survive is pollinated by bees. In fact, globally, around a third of our crops are pollinated by insects. In the UK alone, there are about 70 species that bees help to pollinate. Without them, you could forget about many of your favourite foods.

They don't just pollinate food for humans. Bees pollinate trees and flowers, which provide homes for the other wildlife we love and depend on. If we lose bees, we will lose the possibility of a wilder future. They may be small, but they are critical.

Apis mellifera - will the real honey bee please stand up?

Just one bee species, apis mellifera, makes honey. They've made a big name for themselves. Each honey bee makes around one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime - which for summer-born workers, may only be a few weeks. In the wild, honey bees nest in hollow trees. For them, like much of our wildlife - woodlands are really important.

There are 270 species of bee in the UK. From mining bees (which nest below ground) to carder bumblebees (which find holes in logs and plants), or even bi-coloured bees (which make homes in snail shells), it can be a little tricky figuring out what you've seen. Check out our bee ID pages for some handy hints.

Why are bees in danger?

Have you noticed less buzz where you live? You're not alone. There's a worrying pattern of insect decline in the UK. Like much of our wildlife, insects face many threats. They're at crisis point.

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Why are Bees Important for our Wild Isles? | The RSPB

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Bees are the powerful pollinators & habitat shapers of our wild isles, helping to keep food on our tables and plants in our wild spaces. Here's why we need bees