We only have a small yard. Is there anything worth doing?

Yes. A bowl of water, a log pile in a corner and one native shrub are a start, and all three fit in a yard. Then tell your guests what turns up.

Won't an untidy corner put guests off?

Tell them why it's there. A sign, a line in the welcome folder or a word at check-in turns a messy corner into the thing they photograph.

Life on Land: Making Room for Wildlife

Looking after the shop window

The ancient woodland, the hedgerows and the wildlife in them are the reason many people come here. They're also the reason many of us stayed. Looking after them isn't a nice extra for a tourism business, it's looking after the shop window.

The good news is that nature does most of the work, if you let it. Native planting, fewer chemicals, softer lighting at night. Then, for the ambitious, a pond, a hedgehog highway or a volunteer day with a local conservation group. Guests love being told what's living on their doorstep.

What is UN Sustainable Development Goal 15, Life on Land?

Protecting the habitats that give us clean air, water, food and wood - the United Nations calls it Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land. In a place named after its forest, it was never going to be off the list.

First steps, small to collective

Small: plant native species, put out water for birds and hedgehogs, and tell guests about local wildlife
Medium: stop using pesticides and herbicides, cut light pollution, and build a pond, log pile or bug hotel
For activity providers: practise Leave No Trace and build wildlife spotting or recording into your sessions
Collective: join tree planting, habitat creation, wildlife surveys or conservation grazing projects with local groups