Published: Monday, 29th September 2025
The winners of the inaugural Garden Wildlife competition have been announced at a ceremony held at King’s Lynn Town Hall on Friday 19 September.
Residents were encouraged to take part and showcase the important contribution that their garden, along with communities, can make to the biodiversity of West Norfolk in a new competition.
Cllr Michael de Whalley, Cabinet member for Climate Change and Biodiversity, explains:
“We had around 40 entries in our two categories for residents. As part of the judging panel, I was impressed by the high calibre of the entries we saw. The visits to each garden were delightful and inspirational.
“We saw gardens that really had considered how to improve biodiversity in our area, including ponds with hessian sack borders, swallow cups, bat boxes, moth trapping and recording of over 900 species, people who had released rescued hedgehogs back into their garden, space for swifts and bats to roost and nest in natural features, and adaptions to garden planting to benefit climate and species in our area.
“I would like to thank everyone who entered in this inaugural year, the Mayor, Councillors and Officers who worked on this competition and the Town Hall team who put on a great ceremony for all the entrants on Friday afternoon.
“By organising this competition, we are helping to encourage residents to show how they’re making a difference to nature and how the work they do in their gardens contributes to local biodiversity in West Norfolk. We also hope that it raises awareness of biodiversity in the Borough and the small actions individuals can take to make a big difference.”
Cllr Pallavi Devulapalli, Ward member for Airfield Ward, who came up with the idea for the competition said:
“We want to promote the value of biodiversity in West Norfolk, to improve it, and increase awareness of it. This is something that residents can be part of that helps nature, biodiversity, and our borough.”
The winning gardens are listed below.
Competition results
Best Large Garden
- Gold: Ray Roche
- Silver: Alaina Slater and David Miller
- Bronze: Caroline and Phillip Welham, Sue George and Jonathan Toye
Best Small Garden
- Gold: Chris and Marie Rawlins
- Silver: Ginene Coles, Kelly and Kelvin Boldero
- Bronze: Ivan Wildman, Veronica Woods, David Beardall, Mary Pursglove
Nature Friendly Parish
Won by Downham Market. An additional lucky draw, that included all entrants, was won by Tracey Wilson.
The winner of each category received a voucher, a plaque and a certificate.