A CHIRK garden centre has teamed up with the UK’s largest nature conservation charity to educate its customers on the declining house sparrow population.

Dobbies in Moreton Park, together with the RSPB wants to encourage customers to welcome the bird species into their gardens 

Although house sparrows topped the Big Garden Birdwatch for the 19th year in a row in 2022, their population has declined so drastically that they are now on the UK Red List for birds, and any further declines would be disastrous.

Adrian Thomas, the RSPB’s wildlife gardening expert, said: “We are really looking forward to working with Dobbies to spread the word about these wonderful garden birds, and how people can help them.

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“They’re great fun for kids to learn about too – house sparrows are delightfully sociable and chattery and they really benefit when we give them the food, water, and a home they need.

“It shows how little actions can really make a difference to our local wildlife.” 

Since the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch began in 1979, encouraging people to count birds for an hour in January, the house sparrow's population has gone from an average of 10 visitors per garden to only about four in 2022.

During the month of May, RSPB volunteers will be raising awareness and collect donations across a number of Dobbies’ stores while offering the opportunity to sign up to become an RSPB member.

As part of this campaign, Dobbies’ Moreton Park store will host a Little Seedlings Club workshop on Sunday May 7.

Dobbies’ Community and CSR Communications Executive, Chloe Bell, explained: “Our Little Seedlings Club attendees are the next generation of gardening enthusiasts and this awareness workshop with RSPB at our Moreton Park store is extremely important when it comes to helping rescue the house sparrow.  

“I have fond memories as a child listening to the house sparrows as I watched them fly about the garden and we want the younger generation to experience this too.

“You can help these birds by planting trees, shrubs and flowers in the garden, a place for the house sparrow to take shelter, forage for insects to feed their chicks, and ultimately help increase the population.”

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Advance booking is required to secure a free spot at Dobbies’ May Little Seedlings Club session at its Moreton Park store. For more information on how children can participate visit, dobbies.com/little-seedlings

For more information on RSPB and how to become a member, visit www.rspb.org.uk