The Cardiff Local Nature Partnership (LNP) scheme will engage residents, communities, schools, and other organisations across the city to create positive outcomes for pollinators. It will develop an action plan to introduce pollinator-friendly land management practices and help invertebrates through the Cardiff Nature Recovery Action Plan (NRAP). As part of their LNP funding, Cardiff Council are funding a part-time Buglife Conservation Officer to deliver action for pollinators across the city.

Quick Facts:

Name of Project: Cardiff Local Nature Partnership (LNP) Scheme
Duration of Project: April 2024 – March 2025
Location of Project: Cardiff, Wales
Species benefiting from Project: Pollinating insects such as bumblebees, solitary bees, wasps, butterflies, hoverflies, and more.
Project funded by: Welsh Government
Project Partners: Cardiff Council (lead), Buglife Cymru, Wales Biodiversity Partnership (WBP), Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), Natural Resources Wales (NRW), South East Wales Biodiversity Records Centre (SEWBReC), Cardiff University and other locally operating charities, community groups, and similar organisations.

The LNP Scheme is being delivered across all local authorities and our three National Parks in Wales, coordinated by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA). The Scheme sits under the Local Places for Nature (LPfN) Programme, funded by Welsh Government.

What will the project do?

Buglife’s role within this project includes working with communities, partners and other stakeholders to encourage food and shelter resources for pollinating insects, raise awareness, and deliver workshops and training such as FIT Count training.

Parallel to engaging people in Cardiff with pollinators, this project will work towards finalising and publishing Cardiff Council’s Pollinator Action Plan. This action plan will enable Cardiff Council and partners to establish new habitats for pollinators and enhance existing ones; encourage less pesticide use; and introduce favourable mowing regimes.

The project also aims to contribute to the development of the Cardiff Nature Recovery Action Plan (NRAP). The NRAP exists to develop long- and short-term conservation and management plans for invertebrates listed under Section 7 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 and species listed in Buglife’s South Wales Coast Important Invertebrate Area (IIA). These species include Shrill Carder Bee (Bombus sylvarum), Grayling Butterfly (Hipparchia semele), White-letter Hairstreak (Satyrium w-album), Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus), White-clawed Crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes), and many more.

Bee Hotels © Jamie Robins

How can you get involved?

You can contribute to the Cardiff LNP through various volunteering opportunities, public engagement events, and habitat creation activities.

We are seeking volunteers to undertake regular invertebrate surveys and FIT counts (for pollinators) at sites across Cardiff. The data from these surveys contributes to a UK monitoring scheme helping to measure trends in pollinator populations and target conservation efforts.

We encourage:

Schools, businesses, landowners, or anyone with any amount of outdoor space, to contact us for advice on and resources to enhance their spaces for pollinators.
Casual recorders to record and share invertebrate sightings via iRecord, LERC Wales, Aderyn, iNaturalist, or by sending data directly to SEWBReC.
You to add your pollinator-friendly space to the B-Lines map.

For more information on pollinator-related Cardiff LNP activities, events, and workshops, and ways to get involved, please contact our Conservation Officer, B, at [email protected].