Neighbourhood norms do not hinder biodiversity conservation in private gardens

Abstract 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.