After nearly two years, Buglife’s Urban Buzz Ipswich project has come to an end after working with local community groups to bring bees, beetles and butterflies into the heart of Ipswich and smashing all of its targets!
Thanks to the enthusiasm and hard work of 827 volunteers, 104 Buzzing Hotspots were enhanced for pollinators with wildflowers, bug-friendly garden plants, flowering shrubs, nesting habitat and a host of other work. Urban Buzz Ipswich worked on high profile locations such as Holywells Park, Christchurch Park and Landseer Park, with partners including Ipswich Borough Council, Greenways Countryside Project, Butterfly Conservation Suffolk and the Ipswich Wildlife Group- all working together to bring colour and wildlife backs to our parks and open spaces.
Buglife is also pleased to announce that the joint winners of the Best Buzzing Hotspot for Ipswich are Sidegate Primary School, Ipswich Borough Council & Suffolk County Council for their work at Sidegate Primary School. The Runner Up was awarded to Ipswich Borough Council & Butterfly Conservation Suffolk for their work at Landseer Park.
Nationally the Urban Buzz projects enhanced over 325ha across 956 Buzzing Hotspots with the help of over 12,000 volunteers, across Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Falmouth, Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester, Plymouth, St Austell, Truro, Wadebridge and York.
David Dowding, Urban Buzz Ipswich Officer commented, “The Urban Buzz project has been a fantastic community effort making a real difference for our precious pollinators. It’s heartening that at a time of widespread insect declines around the world, the people of Ipswich have banded together to bring colour and wildlife back to their parks and open spaces! Thank you to all of the amazing volunteers, partners and funders”.
Gillian French, Head of Grants, Biffa Award said: “At a time when our natural world is in decline projects like this one couldn’t be more vital. It is fantastic to be able to support Urban Buzz and exciting to watch the work going from strength to strength. Brand new habitats are being created for pollinators and we can’t wait to see the impact this will have on local wildlife.”
Urban Buzz Ipswich was made possible thanks to the generous support of Biffa Award, People’s Postcode Lottery and Garfield Weston Foundation.
