Salisbury woman creating Wild Garden Diaries to help agoraphobia

Phamie MacDonald moved into her city centre house seven years ago and was surprised to discover the diverse wildlife that visit her daily.

The 50-year-old freelance graphic designer built a wild area in her garden to give hedgehogs and birds a home.

Upon discovering that Shakti the hedgehog lived in her back garden, Phamie enlisted the help of a local gardener to build a suitable home.

Shakti the hedgehog (Image: Public)

She said: "The relationships that I've established with the birds and hedgehogs is keeping me happy and cheerful.

"Some of my friends call me Snow White, it’s just a shame none of the wildlife are doing my housework. I’ve tried but they’re not having any of it."

Phamie has agoraphobia and anxiety which makes leaving her house "tricky, if not, some days impossible".

Documenting the bonds she's built with the wildlife in her wild area through her YouTube channel 'Wild Garden Diaries' has helped with this. She records everything either on her iPhone 7 or night vision camera.

While Phamie's wild area is not a silver bullet for anxiety, it is helping her "find her own healing path". She added: "Anxiety is something you need to heal from and that's what the wildlife has helped with for me.

"Nature is healing. Whether out in the countryside, the park or in your own back garden."

Phamie explained how lockdown was an "agoraphobic's dream", but that anxiety has likely become more common as people were frightened to go out.

In a bid to help others going through the same struggle, Phamie is filming 'tips and tricks' videos for people who want to start their own wild area.

"Building the relationships has been wonderful and starting my channel has involved a lot of interaction. The best way to heal is through a community," she added.

Phamie's frequent visitors

Phamie's wildlife family is growing every day but the main characters of the Wild Garden Diaries include Dave and Mrs Dave the blackbirds, Fluffy the robin, Shakti the hedgehog, Fwank the pigeion, Marvin the staffy cross, and Spock the sparrowhawk, who found himself inside her lounge.

So far, she's shown how to hand feed a robin, documented the construction of a hedgehog ramp for Shakti and many short clips of her wildlife visitors.

To find out more about Phamie's project, visit her Facebook page or YouTube channel.

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