Photo by mirceax / Getty Images
By Dr. Valli Fraser-Celin
Woods, V., Schmid, L., Chen, H., Knuth, M. (August 5, 2025. Backyard Biophilia: A Survey Instrument to Measure an Attraction to Biodiversity in the Home Garden. HortScience. 10.21273/HORTSCI18638-25
Understanding attraction to biodiversity in home gardens can help shape urban conservation initiatives.
Biodiversity loss has been recently identified as one of the top threats to our global future by the World Economic Forum. While we may not think urban areas play a role in biodiversity conservation, there has been a growing interest in understanding how people perceive and interact with biodiversity in urban areas, especially given the rate of urbanization globally.
Backyards across Canadian cities play an important role in providing access to biodiversity or urban residents; in the United States, for example, an estimated 130 million gardens cover more than 30% of the country – almost 3 times the size of conservation areas. Our backyards provide a unique opportunity to understand urban residents’ attraction to biodiversity, known as biophilia. The opposite of biophilia is biophobia, or a fear of biodiversity, for example, a fear of snakes or spiders, which affects 10% of Americans.
Biophilia is “the innately emotional affiliation of human beings to other living organisms”.
Our backyards provide a space for noticing nature and wildlife, such as birds, butterflies, and fur-bearing animals, while some backyard gardens and green spaces can also provide a refuge for endangered species or act as wildlife corridors. However, there is little research that examines biophilia in the context of urban gardens.
Understanding Backyard Biophilia
The authors of this study developed a survey to explore and measure urban residents’ attraction to biodiversity in the home garden, or Backyard Biophilia. They developed the survey in consultation with experts in landscape design, psychology, and other related disciplines. The survey also wanted to test the Biophilia Reactivity Hypothesis which suggests that biophilia is not a human universal but that it is actually a temperament trait. The survey was reviewed by 3 experts, and then distributed across the U.S.; the survey was answered by 2031 individuals.
The survey collected data such as income and other demographics, and assessed individuals’ biophilia, for example, preferences for messy versus manicured gardens and whether they enjoyed natural sounds like birdsong and insects, and assessed individuals’ pro-environmental behaviours.
The Biophilia Reactivity Hypothesis suggests that biophilia is a temperament trait: "a stable, individual difference in responsiveness to nature, particularly biodiversity."
Gardening for Wildlife and Lawn and Order
The survey findings were found to support the Biophilia Reactivity Hypothesis by demonstrating that attraction to biodiversity in home gardens (backyard biophilia) varies across individuals. For example, data revealed that individuals with higher income reported lower backyard biophilia scores, meaning that individuals with low income showed the highest attraction to biodiversity in their home gardens and urban settings. This knowledge can inform which neighbourhoods wouild benefit more from greening programs near residents’ homes. The authors also found high scores for backyard biophilia increased the likelihood of low biophobia, for example, individuals with higher backyard biophilia are more likely to be comfortable coexisting with wildlife, such as urban fur-bearing animals like raccoons and skunks, as well as pro-environmental behaviours, for example not using pesticides and “leaving the leaves”. These results suggest that people’s preferences for biodiversity are reflected in their everyday choices about how they engage with their environment.
These findings reveal the importance of understanding backyard biophilia when developing biodiversity conservation programs in urban settings.
About Dr. Valli Fraser-Celin
Dr. Valli Fraser-Celin holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Guelph where she studied human-African wild dog conflict and conservation in Botswana, Africa. Valli has always been interested in the human dimensions of wildlife, in particular, humans’ relationships with large carnivores, she collaborated with the Fur-Bearers on a research project exploring Canadians’ perceptions of and knowledge about wolves. Valli is also passionate about dogs, and advocates for dog welfare through her Instagram @thelivesofwilddogs. In her spare time, she runs a pet pantry at her local community centre for pet guardians experiencing pet food insecurity.
