As the lockdown drags on, I've been craving the quiet thrill of attracting nature into my garden. Recently the garden has become my haven; during every zoom call, assignment or indoor task, my mind is counting down the minutes until I can next place myself between sun and birdsong.

Over the past 12 weeks, my family have been working together to create a small wildlife haven in my back garden, and we have seen a big difference.

Already keen gardeners, my mum and stepdad have created a tiny allotment in the top left of the garden, with beds of potatoes, root vegetables and berries. Pots of flowers line the decking and we have a couple of plum trees, a clematis and a large ivy bush. With these areas already attracting some birds and insects, we decided to see how beneficial we can make our small patch of land.

Constructing Safe Feeding Stations

The first addition was the instalment of a bird feeding station, but with a twist. We already had plenty of sparrows nesting each year in the ivy, which is great, but I hadn't seen a great variety of birds in the garden and wanted to attract more species. Problems:

• A) a three-foot feeder wasn't the easiest landmark to spot from above.

• B) I own a rambunctious cocker-poodle who is convinced that any feathery visitor in the garden is an imminent threat to the safety of the household.

So, this concluded that the feeder had to be visible and safe. My sister and I spent an hour one afternoon trying to attach the pole of the feeder to the trunk of our small plum tree with string. We were proud of our handy work, but in reality the feeder was very wonky, obstructed the growth of the tree, and was not very secure. My stepdad then got involved and managed to secure the feeder with brackets to a fence post beside the shed, making it high, safe and stable. It didn't take long for the resident sparrows to catch on, and within a week starlings, blue tits, magpies and even a jackdaw had dined on our offerings of fat balls and seeds. Since then, we have doubled the number of feeders in the garden, lined the fence with mealworms and nyjer seed (although we still haven't been graced by goldfinch), installed a second feeding station in the front garden and made two bird baths.

Providing Nesting Material

As I have mentioned, we do get yearly sparrows nesting in the ivy and in the rafters of our eighteenth-century house, but this spring we have also had at least three dozen starling fledglings every morning on the lawn, feasting on the abundance of leatherbacks in the grass. We've had the visitors coming back most mornings not only in search of food, but also nesting materials, so we scattered some straw in the flower pots and can now see straw poking out of the wooden rafters by the roof. We have blue tits nesting in one of the back corners, sparrows and starlings in the hedges, and jackdaws in the chimney.

It goes to show that the simple ways of lending nature a hand can spark a chain reaction of positive impacts.

1. After putting up the feeding station, the birds can come and eat safely, while checking out the real estate available for nesting.

2. They can find nesting materials readily available in the garden.

3. Their fledglings are now making use of the feeding station too.

As I'm sitting in my garden typing this, there are 6 fledgling starlings squabbling on the fat-balls, two drinking from the bird bath, and one observing from the shed. There is a clear age difference in some of them; a couple are still attended by adults, others are bolder and have more developed plumage. By having so many starlings nesting around me, I have learned so much about their behaviour and I cannot wait for them to come again next spring

Discovering New Interests

Of course, whilst birds are my main fascination, my passion for helping nature is not exclusive to the avian population. Over these past couple of months, I have really enjoyed improving my insect knowledge. By watching the birds in early April on the grass I have studied the countless leatherbacks in my lawn. Having the time to sit in the garden writing has allowed me to count the butterflies visiting my garden: common blues, peacocks, orange tips and red admirals. Currently, I am finding a love for moths too.

As I have said, my parents are keen gardeners and on the weekends I only really see them come inside for food and coffee. Our garden has bloomed tremendously in lockdown and the extra time has allowed them to dig out a new flowerbed. Admittedly, I am not a gardener, and I know very little about plants, except my small knowledge of common trees. But with all this free time I have no excuse not to learn, and after being inspired daily by Chris Packham's Self Isolating Bird Club broadcast, I really wanted to create a nature garden.

I donned my face mask and went to a local garden centre where I picked up any seed packet with a bird, bee or butterfly on the front. More experienced gardeners, my mum and stepdad walked around and picked out the plants that they knew were popular amongst insects. I then spent the afternoon creating an army of pots around me, getting so into it that I planted the garlic in the fridge.

This was about three weeks ago - since then my seeds are germinating and the new flowerbed is beautifully coloured. Most excitingly, as I was writing earlier, I noticed a honey bee on some of the new flowers and have since started to learn more about our bee species.

The important part was, the garden has been a family effort and we are all seeing the benefits. I am learning how to garden from my family, and my surveys around the garden have made us all more mindful of what we are growing and how we can optimise our flowerbeds for insects and birds in turn.

Sharing A Love of Nature

Nature has a way of bringing people together, even in the darkest times. Basing lockdown-life around when we can go on walks, visit nature reserves, plant flowers and watch Springwatch in the evening together has helped my family cope. In all this uncertainty, fear and social restriction, nature and its yearly schedule remains constant, reliable and enjoyable. Nothing can stop all the anxiety from this situation and nothing can take the pain away from so many people who have lost loved ones; but nature has felt like a comfort blanket or an escape which I've completely thrown myself into, and I know many people have felt the same way. This is why after life gradually returns to whatever normal is, we cannot take for granted the natural world around us and neglect our ability to accommodate it in our daily lives.