We’re delighted to share the winners of the ‘All Aboard the B-Line’ competition whose artwork is being featured in London Underground stations.
The ‘All Aboard the B-Line’ art competition run, by Buglife’s ‘Get London Buzzing!‘ project, asked young people in London to create and share artwork that would encourage others to help bees and other pollinating insects. The winning entries for each category are featuring in our All Aboard the B-Line advertising campaign on the London Underground, which has been created to raise awareness of the ways you can help pollinators through Buglife’s B-Lines initiative and the Get London Buzzing project.
B-Lines are a network of wildflower-rich stepping stones which weave across the country. They provide connectivity for pollinators much like the tube network provides connectivity for London, and this presents a fantastic opportunity for B-Lines and the London Underground to come together.
We had a fantastic response from young people across the city and our judging panel had the hard task of choosing a winner and a runner up for the three age categories. We are delighted to share the winners with you:
Conor Cooper, Buglife Community Engagement Officer, said, ”The aim of this campaign is to encourage Londoners to help our bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other pollinating insects by making small changes in their gardens our outside space that can make a really big difference. Our pollinators are struggling because of issues such as habitat loss and pesticide use and as a third of London’s green space is made up by private gardens, this provides a fantastic opportunity for nature in the Capital. We asked young Londoners to help us Get London Buzzing with an eye-catching poster design, and they certainly delivered! We were really impressed by the quality and variety of entries we received – it was very difficult to choose the winners. It shows that young Londoners really understand the importance of pollinators and are passionate about their conservation.”
Soma Pujari, Co-Founder & Executive Trustee, Kusuma Trust, who funded the project, said, “We share our urban home with a myriad of tiny wildlife you can see if you look closely. We are delighted to partner with Buglife to enhance habitats for bees and other pollinators and engage and excite young people about them.”
Manikanta Madur, Under 10s winner, said “I got the idea of a flower nursery and the kids planting plants, it’s nice to experience that I won.”
Adithi Madur, 11-15 winner, said, “I’m really excited and happy to have won this competition. I took inspiration from bees and the important role they play in nature. They help everything around them thrive, and I wanted to show that in my artwork. I showed the skyline of the city where many people live, which incorporates familiarity, so this artwork will resonate with more people. Lastly, it’s nice to have my work recognised and displayed so thank you.”
For the last two years, the Get London Buzzing project has connected with local communities, schools and businesses to champion pollinators, raise awareness of the threats that they face, and encourage people to do their bit to help them.
We hope that people commuting, travelling or exploring via the London Underground will take a moment to enjoy the artwork and learn more about pollinators and explore the simple actions that they can take to help and protect pollinators. The posters can be seen at Camden Town, Hampstead, Brixton, Lewisham and Westminster stations until Monday 9 March. For more information, please visit the ‘Get London Buzzing!‘ project page.
We would also like to thank all of the young people who took part in the competition. It was a pleasure for everyone involved to see the creativity, talent and passion that young people have for the small things that run the planet!
Main Image Credit: All Aboard the B-Line Competition Winners photographed with their posters at Tabard Garden Community Allotment. From left to right: Cassia Clark (16+ Winner), Conor Cooper (Get London Buzzing Community Engagement Officer), Adithi Madur (11-15 Winner), Manikanta Madur (0-10 Winner). © Amy Crawford
