What is a wildlife windowbox?

Make or buy a windowbox and fill it with a sterile compost (in theory this should not contain weed seeds). Add a few features - a piece of wood, a stone, a small pond - then wait. Like Surtsey, the volcanic island that appeared from the sea off Iceland in 1963, animals and plants of various kinds will arrive of their own accord. Resist the temptation to plant anything, but feel free to manage whatever does grow in any way, to water the box when necessary and so on.

I have positioned my box on a stand half a metre off the ground, though you can put them anywhere they will fit out of doors. They are, however, probably less vulnerable if they are off the ground. They can even go on an outside window ledge,if you have one, or a roof.

Soon you will have a small wilderness, a mini nature reserve that will change over the years.

In this web log I plan to describe what happens in my window box in our garden near the village of Sedlescombe, East Sussex. It would be good if others did the same elsewhere so we could compare notes.