Making Your Shed More Environmentally Friendly

Sheds are an invaluable space for maintaining your garden. Most often, their primary purpose is storing all the gardening tools and equipment necessary to keep your outdoor space healthy and happy. In turn, our gardens keep us happy!

As humans, we have a natural affinity for organic environments, greenery, and all things that grow. But could our garden sheds be doing more to give back to the environment they so clearly depend upon and are used to maintain?

In this article we look at some of the ways you could transform your shed into a more environmentally friendly building, as well serving your garden better.

Install a Water Butt

Collecting water that falls naturally on your shed roof is a relatively simple matter. Installing guttering under its eaves with a pipe leading to a water butt is all that’s required, and fairly inexpensive to do.

Once you have this system set up, you no longer need to run the taps to water your garden or plants. The rainwater collected in the water butt could also be used for washing your windows, further reducing your water consumption and water bill.

Install a Compost Container

Perhaps the easiest and cheapest way to improve your shed’s usefulness, whilst reducing your carbon footprint, is with a composting container. Creating and using your own compost from plant matter and food waste not only saves you from buying compost but also reduces your reliance on waste disposal services.

Commercial waste and compost industries both rely on heavy machinery and transportation, meaning high energy costs and carbon emissions. Using your own waste and compost requires no travel and no machinery, thereby reducing your carbon footprint. Not to mention saving you some money on shop-bought compost.

Composting works best under stable conditions, so sheltering compost containers in the shade of sheds and garden buildings provides natural protection from more extreme weather effects.

Install a Green Roof

Green roofs are increasingly popular these days and there are good reasons for that. Not only does it provide natural insulation, but it’s also environmentally friendly. Birds, bees, and other insects may nest and seek refuge among the plant life of a green roof. At the same time, the plants collect CO2 and release oxygen back into the atmosphere.

These factors make green roofs particularly welcome in urban areas, where natural habitats are more scarce for seed-spreading birds or pollinating insects, and where levels of CO2 are higher and air quality lower.

Install Birdhouses, Bird Feeders, and Bee Hotels

To further stimulate and protect the wildlife our plants depend upon, you could attach birdhouses or bug hotels to your shed. This also adds a nature-embracing charm and feel to a shed that kids might especially enjoy.

If you’re looking for a shed company so you can create an environmentally friendly (and useful) garden shed, get in touch with A1 Sheds today. A1 Sheds is a specialist garden building supplier, operating across the UK – we’ll be more than happy to help you find the right shed for your garden.