Neighbourhood norms do not hinder biodiversity conservation in private gardens
2026-01-12
Private gardens can be an important complement to traditional approaches to biodiversity conservation. While neighbourhood norms are often seen as a barrier to conservation gardening, little is known about individuals’ expectations regarding their neighbouring gardens. Based on a multifactorial vignette experiment and a neighbourhood choice question, our results reveal that existing norms constrain gardening much less than is assumed, leaving significant scope for activating the biodiversity potential of private gardens.