I am fortunate to have, through my business, designed, created and implemented wildlife havens in gardens, nature reserves and green spaces for around 15 years.  This of course brings me closer to nature on a regular basis and allows me to see the impact that gardening with nature in mind, not against it, can make a whole world of difference to those creatures that are so dependent on what we do – or don’t do.

My earliest memory would be building a small pond with my father, spending time in the woods and nature areas local to me as a child and learning while out and about, usually quite by accident.  If you’re out there, you’re more likely to experience things of course.  My mother relies on nature for her art creations and from her influence I have found that not only being in nature, but recognising and appreciating the smaller creatures, can be beneficial for the mind and soul.  Art is most often an expression of how one is feeling and is accessible to all – as a lot of the artists have proven in the work I have chosen, it does not need new materials or to be expensive and it can be done with various media that is recycled, and can make you think in more detail about how these materials can be utilised to express thoughts and messages about helping nature to thrive, and highlighting those creatures that most would not have engaged with previously, but are made aware of by this beautiful artwork produced.

Through the book I have written and through my YouTube channel “Wild Your Garden With Joel Ashton” I have managed to engage with people worldwide about making spaces in their gardens and green areas and am so encouraged by the enthusiasm and responses – there are more people than I ever thought possible that are keen to make a difference, even in the smallest of spaces.  While we, as the world, collectively try to manage the bigger picture we need to keep creating safe-havens and habitats for those creatures waiting for the bigger changes.