PORTSWOOD REC WINS DEFRA BEES’ NEEDS AWARD FOR 2021
WOW were we surprised when we’re informed back, in March, that we’d won a DEFRA Bees’ Needs Award! Surprised and delighted because we were among only twenty one community groups from across the country to achieve this. To be honest, we’d more or less forgotten about it because a year had passed since we’d put in our application, and the results had been due out last October. Having not heard anything, we assumed we hadn’t been successful, and then earlier this year, BINGO!!
So who are ‘we’? We’re the Friends of Portswood Rec gardening group and over the past 4 years, since we first formed, we’ve been working to renovate the garden area within Portswood Rec. As well as making it attractive for park users, one of our main aims has been to create more habitat for wildlife, especially pollinators.
We asked ourselves what any self- respecting bee (or other insect) would need, and decided that food, water and suitable places to nest and hibernate, would feature highly.
To provide a food source in the form of a regular supply of nectar and pollen, we’ve used plants that we know are pollinator friendly and between them, will flower over a long period. We planted 1000 snowdrop and crocus bulbs, (amongst others), to provide an early food source. And we have plants such as sedum and Michaelmas daisies that flower late in the season, sometimes through to November. As well as filling up the flower borders with plants that mostly have the RHS designation of ‘Perfect for Pollinators’, we’ve also created 2 areas of wildflower meadow elsewhere in the park.
Unfortunately, we don’t have a pond at the Rec, but have put down a large saucer of water which we try to replenish regularly. We’ve added a couple of large stones to act as landing platforms for the insects and to give them access to the water. Hedgehogs and birds also benefit.
In terms of nesting sites, we’ve created 5 bumblebee nests using upturned terracotta pots, some piping, chicken wire and nesting material…..very Blue Peter!!! They’re designed to replicate one of the bumblebees favourite nesting sites, which are abandoned rodent burrows. I think the jury’s still out as to how successful they are, but certainly worth a try. They’re easy to construct and there are various online sites with instructions. We’ve also tried to create opportunities for solitary bees to nest. Our bug hotel has been very successful and is currently in use by mason bees. The large, sunken pot of sandy substrate that we created for mining bees has yet to be occupied, but we live in hope.
There are many suitable nooks and crannies in the Rec to provide safe, weather- proof hidey-holes for insects to overwinter. We’ve created a number of log piles and we try not cut down all the perennials in the autumn, preferring to leave hollow stems for hibernating insects, and seeds for the birds. Our beetle bank is a work in progress, having been submerged under an enthusiastic growth of rye grass. But we intend to take matters in hand and create different habitats on and around it.
The Council have also agreed to a trial of not using any herbicides in the park which will allow longer grass to grow up in certain areas, providing cover and further insect friendly habitat. We just hope that people will go with the more relaxed look, so that the council don’t feel the need to go back in with the glyphosate. But, with all the things we’ve done, we’ve tried to take the public along with us, by informing them through our notice board and monthly Nature Notes. That way, we hope they’re on-board with our aims and are understanding of the changes. After all, our pollinators need all the help they can get!
We’ve achieved a lot in the time we’ve been going, but there’s always more to be done. If this appeals to the Wildlife Gardener in you, please come and join us. We’re a friendly, informal group that meets weekly, usually on Sundays. No experience needed, just bags of enthusiasm.
For more information contact denise.long2@btinternet.com.
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