The Buglife B-Line map for Scotland won the prestigious innovation category at the Nature of Scotland Awards last night. The award ceremony organised by RSPB Scotland and co-sponsored by NatureScot, was an evening of celebration for the conservation community hosted by TV and radio presenter Arlene Stuart.
The innovation award, sponsored by The Ardmore, was awarded to the most innovative project, initiative, practice, or technique (management or otherwise) that has aided nature conservation.
B-Lines are Buglife’s response to the decline of bees and other pollinating insects, a plan for how to reconnect our wild places by creating a network of wildflowers across our landscapes. They were mapped by local communities across Scotland, from the Scottish Borders to the Highlands & Islands, with support from a team of conservation scientists and GIS experts from Buglife.
Our precious pollinators are disappearing from large parts of the countryside – there are fewer bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths – and as well as the loss of abundance, some species are at risk of extinction in Scotland. But we can change this, by working together to restore wildflower areas in our countryside and urban areas we can aid nature’s recovery.
Claire Pumfrey, Buglife Conservation Officer, said “Our pollinators are in decline for a number of reasons, but the main cause is the loss of wildflowers in our countryside and urban areas. B-Lines maps and then creates a network of wildflowers, creating connections for our wildlife to move more freely across our landscape. Thank you to everyone who has helped with the map and been involved with B-Lines projects so far, now we need to continue to make this happen on the ground”
B-Lines provide an opportunity to create a network of wildflower-rich areas across Scotland providing essential routes for pollinators to use. The B-Lines network in Scotland includes our best habitats and identifies key areas to restore and create new wildflower-rich meadows, important grassland verges and pollinator friendly gardens. B-Lines can be adopted by farmers and landowners, local authorities and communities across all of Scotland.
Everyone who manages land across Scotland can help to restore our pollinator populations. Take a look at the B-Lines map and see if your farm, garden, local park or other land you manage is on a B-Line. And if you would like to get involved, please contact us at Buglife Scotland.
We would like to thank the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for supporting this project, and the help of all the local and national partners who have helped us to map the B-Lines network for Scotland.
