Garden for Life

Mission statement

Garden for Life is a partnership of organisations working in Scotland. Its key aims are:

To increase enjoyment and understanding of biodiversity
To support action by gardeners for the benefit of Scotland’s biodiversity.
To promote the benefits of gardening for health and well being

Terms of Reference

We believe we can achieve these aims by:

Promoting sustainable gardening as a way of increasing people’s enjoyment and understanding of biodiversity and our wildlife.

Encouraging and enabling more people to garden with sustainabilityand wildlife in mind

Supporting the environmental and health benefits of people growing their own food

Encouraging research which can inform and support public policy at all levels, for the benefit of biodiversity and public health in Scotland

Sharing good practice between the member organisations of Garden for Life, so that we can work together to achieve our aims in the most effective and efficient ways

The aims of the Garden for Life are:

To increase enjoyment and understanding of biodiversity
To support action by gardeners for the benefit of Scotland’s biodiversity
To promote the benefits of gardening for health and well-being.

Use the links at the top of the page to find out more

Garden without peat publication - (pdf 852KB)

The following organisations are currently members of the Garden for Life Forum. This Forum meets regularly to discuss and decide on activities and consider ways of supporting the programme.

What does the Forum do?

Organisations belonging to the Forum meet on a regular basis to agree plans and strategies; share information; and to work together on projects. They have produced a series of five free Garden for Life leaflets which are distributed to the public both through garden centre plant promotions, as well as at shows, schools, community events etc. They are also available to download:

Garden for Life – and you’ll never be short of visitors
Garden for butterflies
Garden for birds
Garden for life in pots and containers – everyone with a garden, or even a window box, can enjoy nature’s riches
Garden for Food - and get a taste for wildlfie

What else is Garden for Life doing?

Garden for Life has links with BBC’s Beechgrove Garden, in particular the Community Gardens projects across Scotland featured during the summer, as well as the factsheets sent out after each programme.

At a strategic level it is hoped that these initiatives will contribute significantly to the implementation of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy which is currently being developed.

For further information or advice on Garden for Life please contact contact Mike Hamilton/Naomi Knights (0131 623 7058). To obtain leaflets please contact SNH Karen Smith (01738 458556) at Battleby.
Garden for Life - and grow closer to nature!