More meadows for Plymouth to help our bees!

Friday 8th November 2013

Buglife and Plymouth City Council are creating more wildflower meadows in the city as part of the Plymouth’s Buzzing project.  Having planted new meadows in Stonehouse and Central Park the project is now planning to create rivers of flowers on land next to Bodmin Road in Whitleigh.

Rupert Goddard, Project Officer at Buglife said: “The land off Bodmin Road will look amazing with the addition of a mixture of wildflowers. Paths will be cut through the site to make it easier for local residents and visitors to get really close to nature.”

“The works will look like the site is being dug up but the wildflowers will soon germinate and help to develop a beautiful  canvas of colour at the entrance to Whitleigh.”

“We hope to get as many people as possible to join us in creating colourful and buzzing spaces, together we can make a real difference to help the small things that run the planet.”

Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor Brian Vincent said:  “Plymouth is lucky enough to have a fantastic environment, but times are tough for some of our buzzing friends whose numbers are in decline.”
“Creating these meadows will not only help the bees and other pollinators, but will look really lovely to boot!”

Rupert added “Our pollinating insects are vital to our wellbeing, economy and a healthy environment”, said Rupert, “much of the food we eat and the wildflowers that brighten up our countryside are reliant on insect pollination. Our bees and butterflies have suffered drastic declines due to the loss of wildflowers in our countryside. This meadow will help us to reverse the decline in our wildlife and create a colourful meadow for everyone to enjoy.”

The Plymouth’s Buzzing  project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, has created over 5ha of new meadows across the city over the past 2 years.

 

To get involved in wildflower planting and other activities, please contact Rupert Goddard at Buglife on 01752 253087, or e-mail [email protected].

Notes for Editors
For further information and images please contact:
Rupert Goddard, Plymouth’s Buzzing Project Officer at Buglife, on 01752 253087 or [email protected]
or Andrew Whitehouse, South West Regional Manager 01752 253087 or 07880 316037 [email protected]

Plymouth’s Buzzing is a partnership project between Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust and Plymouth City Council. The project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund Your Heritage programme /campaigns-and-our-work/habitat-projects/plymouths-buzzing

Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust is the only charity in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates, and is actively working to save Britain’s rarest bees, beetles, spiders, snails and many more fascinating invertebrates. Our South West regional office is in Plymouth.
Further information is available on Buglife’s website at www.buglife.org.uk and ‘Like’ us on Facebook.

Plymouth City Council http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/

Heritage Lottery Fund http://www.hlf.org.uk