I AM not one for new year resolution but for those of us who care about our declining wildlife numbers and diversity, early in the year is a time to plan and act to make even the tiniest of gardens more nature-conservation friendly.

For the statistics are a sad indictment. Ancient grasslands as meadows: 98 per cent destroyed. Ponds, nationally some 1.3 million in 1980 – now down below 280,000 and the major factor in massive decline of our native amphibians. Other alarmingly declining groups are our native butterflies, wild bees and individual species such as hedgehogs.

Even a small lawn is of value. Enhanced by a bird table and drinking water. In our last hard winter, this was visited not infrequently by a fieldfare – amazing! Even at this time of year, fresh water should be put out – especially if conditions are freezing. The TV presenter Ray Mears, pointed out that eating snow, hastens the onset of hypothermia in arctic survival. The same is true in birds. Nest boxes and hanging bird feeders are very much conservation pluses. Also in late autumn, resist the “squeaky clean” urge to rake the leaves off the grass. In frosty weather the birds diligently turn the leaves over before they rot away, searching for the grubs beneath – free pest control!

Put in a pond. Even a tiny one may be of value. Mine is barely more than double kitchen sink size. Frogs breed there each year. Toads less so since the nearby grassland field was ploughed up, making access from a beck at some distance more difficult. Last July the water surface was almost packed with baby froglets walking like ballerinas on the tiny floating plates of duckweed. Then almost in an instant overnight – they dispersed into the long grass.

Make a small hedge of native shrubs. Hawthorn is among the most valuable. Its nectar is eagerly sought by our wild bees and delightfully over the years, it has self seeded in and around Clints Quarry nature reserve near Egremont. The flowers also make a tranquillising tea, good for cardio-vascular problems due to the flavone glycosides present. The flowers can also be fermented to form a pleasing wine of relatively high alcohol content. I know!

Other valuable shrubs include sloe, elder, bramble, rowan, yew, holly, crab apple, buddleia, barberry, cotoneaster, spindle, honeysuckle and our wonderful wild roses. Even non-native laurel, cypress and rhododendron provide evergreen shelter for small birds such as wrens in hard winters.

If you dare, have a small wild herb patch. I have seen butterflies feeding on the nectar in thistle flowers and how many of our loveliest butterflies munch on stinging nettle leaves at their larval or caterpillar stages. The peacock is just one species to do precisely this.

Prunings and leaves in a quiet corner, might just become a hibernation site for hedgehogs and also useful for foraging insectiverous birds in winter. Dead woodpiles can perform the same function. My garden wildlife conservation list is far from comprehensive and the thoughtful reader will include others I may have omitted.