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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260414T193000
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UID:5079-1776195000-1776200400@www.sgdg.org.uk
SUMMARY:John Little - The Potential of a Bad Shed - The importance of gardeners\, structure\, topography and dead stuff over plants in driving biodiversity.
DESCRIPTION:14th April 2026 @ 7.30 pm – 9:00 pm ZOOM EVENT \nJohn Little is known for his experimental garden in Essex and pioneering work with wildflowers and green roofs. He specialises in designing and building wildlife-friendly structures and spaces\, such as bus shelters with green roofs\, often integrating salvaged materials. \nHe likes the stuff other people disregard: building waste and rubble\, rubbish bins\, bike stores and railings. He’s partial to an old car carcass and a bit of “bad pruning”. \nOne thing he’s not so keen on is topsoil. This is all coming from a man who makes some of the most inspiring landscapes around\, those that are rich in biodiversity\, economical to make and maintain\, low impact in terms of embodied carbon\, and pleasing – enriching even – to people. \nJohn has made a business out of growing wild things on waste. He sows wildflower meadows into crushed toilets and sinks that flourish because of the low-nutrient content of such substrates. He creates insect habitats from the sort of rubbish that any building site has – plumbing piping and the ends of roofing felt\, mastic tubs and light sockets. \n \nIn this talk John makes the case that gardeners\, structure\, topography\, and dead stuff are more important than plants in driving biodiversity and that we should be designing these into all new landscapes. John argues: \n\nPut the best gardeners in the poorest places\nMove money from capital into care\nUnderstand that gardened places are best for biodiversity and people\nUnderstand that a modern public space gardener is much more than a horticulturalist\nQuestion our obsession with specifying topsoil in all new projects\, especially on highways and new developments\nKeep waste on site and use it to make places beautiful and biodiverse\nPut soil and plants on roofs\n\nAfter 18 years looking after social housing green space\, John has started carenotcapital.org\, a not-for-profit to train gardeners in everything other than horticulture. In 2008 he launched a range of small green roof shelters including bike and bin storage greenroofshelters.co.uk \nJohn can be found on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grassroofco/reels/?hl=en \n  \nMembers; no charge. \nNon-members\, please book tickets below.
URL:https://www.sgdg.org.uk/event/john-little-the-potential-of-a-bad-shed-the-importance-of-gardeners-structure-topography-and-dead-stuff-over-plants-in-driving-biodiversity/
LOCATION:Zoom Online Event
CATEGORIES:Zoom Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.sgdg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/John_Little-resized.jpg
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