Pro Natura sees a rethink New study shows Swiss people's gardening preferences - one point is surprising
Many Swiss people want more nature in their own gardens. According to a new survey, most of them are not bothered by wild meadows or less carefully tended green spaces - on the contrary.
18.05.2026, 11:39
18.05.2026, 16:04
SDA
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- According to the survey, the majority of Swiss people keep their gardens close to nature.
- Unmown meadows and native plants are well received by many.
- Nevertheless, nature conservation organizations warn of the poor state of biodiversity.
The vast majority of Swiss people with a garden tend to keep it fairly or very close to nature. This was revealed by a representative survey conducted by the research institute gfs-zürich on behalf of the nature conservation organization Pro Natura.
More than two thirds of those surveyed perceive the green spaces in their living environment to be somewhat or very close to nature, Pro Natura wrote on Monday. Two out of three people agreed that they have a positive effect on their quality of life. When looking over the hedge, 73 percent of respondents stated that they found unmown meadows in the neighboring garden appealing.
Pro Natura reads from these answers that the Swiss also find near-natural areas without pesticides and flower meadows with native plants instead of non-native plants aesthetically pleasing. For those who stated that they garden close to nature, the main motivation was a sense of responsibility towards the environment and the next generation.
Those who decided against biodiversity-promoting garden maintenance stated in the survey that they did not like near-natural gardens. They also said that such maintenance was too costly. Only one percent were influenced in their decision by the opinion of their neighbors.
State of nature far less good
According to Pro Natura, the representative survey, in which a total of 1,213 people in German-speaking Switzerland, French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino were questioned, probably paints too optimistic a picture. More than half a square meter of soil is sealed every second in Switzerland - around one percent of green spaces in urban areas disappear every year.
According to the nature conservation organization, the state of biodiversity in nature tends to be assessed more positively than it actually is. This is also shown by a recently published report by the Swiss Academy of Sciences, which states that biodiversity in urban areas is in a poor state.
Efforts to increase biodiversity
According to researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), the efforts of individuals are not enough to restore the balance. They investigated the occurrence and behavior of pollinating insects in 24 gardens in the city of Zurich.
The result: large wild bees such as bumblebees found their way to individual flowering gardens even in densely built-up inner cities. Hoverflies and beetles, on the other hand, were less common in such neighborhoods, regardless of the amount of flowers available in individual gardens. Nevertheless, a lot can be achieved in your own garden, according to the WSL.
Efforts to promote biodiversity are always worthwhile, even in small areas.
