Mayor Dave expands Bugs and Bees Project to boost biodiversity
Last night at a meeting of the Climate Change Committee, Mayor Dave Hodgson voted to confirm the expansion of the successful Bugs and Bees Project to help save the bees and boost biodiversity across the Borough. Commenting after the meeting, Mayor Dave said "The success of this project has been down to our residents and council staff who have worked together to find suitable locations for rewilding and relaxed grass cutting. Bees are vital to our ecosystems and we must work to protect them. Not only will this improve biodiversity across the Borough, less mowing will mean a further reduction in carbon emissions - which is something we are always striving to do."
Mayor Dave launched the Bugs and Bees Project in 2020 and since then the Council has received hundreds of suggestions for locations for rewilding and relaxed grass cutting. Areas included within the initial year of the project can be seen below:
Existing Grass Areas Allowed to Grow Long (cut once per annum) | Native Wildflower Perennial Meadow Sown | Floral Annual/Perennial Meadows Sown (including non-native species) |
Jubilee Park (beneath the trees in the middle of the park) | Woodlands Country Park | Abbey Fields Public Open Space (eastern section) |
Brickhill Drive Open Space (beside the entrance to Brickhill Allotments) | Great Denham (fenced area to the end of Greenkeeper's Road) | Kempston Hardwick |
Kempston Riverside Park (at the end of Mill Lane) | Addison Howard Park (around the pond area to the north of the park) | Stewartby Village Green (south eastern section) |
Longholme Way (near Cardington Road) | Russell Park (Time Garden) |
Wildflower species such as clover and dandelion provide important pollen and nectar sources for insects, bees and other pollinators that are a vital part of our ecosystem. Allowing grass to grow longer produces a more sustainable natural environment and provides food and shelter for animals, bees and other insects.
Elstow and Stewartby Councillor Tim Hill, who used his Ward Member's Fund to pay for the floral meadows in Abbey Fields, Kempston Hardwick and Stewartby Village Green, said "Even after only one year of this project you can already see the success in my ward. Last summer there were visibly more bees and the meadows looked great which is another bonus of this project. I'm very pleased this is being expanded to more sites to make Bedford a fantastic place to live for people and bees!"
In addition to grassland management changes in our parks and open spaces, other work is being linked into the Bugs and Bees project where possible to help promote the project further and to increase the impact Bedford can have on creating sustainable environments. This includes the planting of more pollinator friendly plants, reducing the amount of chemical usage in park maintenance, and the planting of 10,000 trees this planting season.