What an incredible week it was for the SongBird Survival team at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and we were thrilled to be awarded a prestigious RHS Silver-Gilt medal for the garden.

We are still buzzing from the vibrant atmosphere and the beauty of our garden, designed for songbirds by Nicola Oakey, most importantly, the genuine interest in songbirds from everyone who visited our garden. It was truly a landmark event for our charity.

"Great human artistic skill and also carrying a message that these are birds we need to encourage in our garden or else we're going to lose them..."
BBC presenter, Monty Don

One of our primary goals for attending the show was to raise awareness about the alarming decline in UK songbird populations, and to inspire the next generation of songbird champions to help prevent our gardens from falling silent. We gave out over 15,000 copies of our brochure, which contains a wealth of information about the garden, planting and tips of what people can do at home throughout the year. We had so many conversations with visitors to the show who wanted to know more about our work, many of whom had never heard of us before.

The garden's reach was further extended and amplified through several features on the BBC Chelsea highlights shows, including segments with much-loved presenters like Monty Don, Toby Buckland, Sue Kent and Jamie Butterworth, as well as a lovely feature on the garden by Alex Jones on the One Show on Monday 19^th May and a live broadcast directly from the garden with Jack Marriner-Brown on Tuesday 20^th BBC Morning Live (click here to view on BBC iPlayer)

Check out some of the Chelsea highlights on the BBC iPlayer here: (we are featured in episodes 1, 6, 8 and 13 with lots of other mentions throughout the week.)

Our success at Chelsea would not have been possible without our truly fabulous volunteers. Their dedication, enthusiasm, and hard work were fundamental to making our garden so welcoming. From engaging with the public to answering questions, and sharing their own passion for songbirds and gardens, they were absolute stars.

Throughout the week, the comments we received about the garden were unanimous in their praise for its design and planting with many people commenting that it was achievable at home. Visitors shared personal stories about how they had songbird-friendly gardens at home featuring many of our plants. Many people shared our concerns about the decline in songbird numbers and took away practical ideas of how to make their gardens even more songbird-friendly. For more tips go to our Gardens for Birds pages here.‍

The Chelsea Flower Show was more than just an event for us; it was a powerful platform that amplified our voice and connected us with new supporters, and we are looking forward to taking SongBird Survival on the journey of our next 25 years with even greater impact.

"You can have a garden that is not only beautiful, but also brilliant for our songbirds" - BBC Presenter, Jamie Butterworth

‍