council encouraging bees into area ?

[green thing]

My local council has been seeking volunteers to sow seed and plant flowers to encourage bees into the area.
One week before this I had a reply from the council who are still refusing to allow
Bees on allotments ?

[VirginVegGrower]

Idiots. Our local council are asking for donations to make the canal edges bee friendly places. Financial donations that is. A money earner? Are they getting EU cash as farmers did if they left meadow edges wild and flowery?

[alldigging]

Ask a question at your local council's main meeting. Ours broadcasts online and via the radio and you can submit questions by email etc.

[zazen999]

Idiots. Our local council are asking for donations to make the canal edges bee friendly places. Financial donations that is. A money earner? Are they getting EU cash as farmers did if they left meadow edges wild and flowery?

They could...stop paying workers to mow the edge and pay them to sow some seeds instead.

[alldigging]

They could...stop paying workers to mow the edge and pay them to sow some seeds instead.

Trees are good for bees. They could go mad and plant fruit trees that would do humans a service too.

[VirginVegGrower]

They could...stop paying workers to mow the edge and pay them to sow some seeds instead.

Some volunteers prune their canal edges they should pay them.

[marchogaeth]

Pembrokeshire were lambasted a few year's ago for not mowing the verges until late July/August because it looked untidy. It was a cost saving measure but, because they stuck to their guns, it has had a huge, positive impact on the flora (and it's beautiful). I was so disappointed recently when, presumably in an effort to look good for the Eisteddfod, they did some verge tidying - straight through all the things like Purple Spotted Orchid - that hadn't finished flowering and had time to set seed.


Grass (canal, footpath and bridle path) verges could be the vital roadways between larger areas of wild flowers for so many insects and mammals. The whole idea of leaving headlands clear or using only light touch management is to create wild life corridors - the whole country is full of such potential corridors. Unfortunately, in most authorities there is no joined up thinking (on anything) usually because they are just responsive and not truly strategic in any planning they do. (Off soap box now.)

If ther is anything on their web site a or in local papers that can be quoted back at them as policy they can be made to change their minds as our cook proved when there was a question about whether it wa ssafe to use food we had grown in school dinners.

[green thing]

The council are now encouraging primary school to plant bee friendly gardens
My kids have been helping at school to plant in the bee garden and have been doing a project
On the importance of bees.
Not seen one bee yet?

Council still refusing to allow Bees on allotments

the local park group set-aside a large area as a wild flower
Meadow look really nice but the council forgot to tell the contractors who cut the grass
In the park . Its not been cut this year so far!

The councils have to be seen to be doing good but actually achieving anything.

[alldigging]

You should write a press release and send it to the papers.

[veggiechicken]

Drove along a couple of A roads between Cardiff and Abergavenny yesterday. The "overgrown" grass verges were a delight - a mass of campion, oxeye daisies, buttercups etc and one of the roundabouts had lots of orchids.
So many verges here are planted with daffodils that mowing is left until now for mowing, to give them chance to die back naturally. Praise be that our national flower isn't the snowdrop

[green thing]

The group responsible for the planters have tweeted how few bee have been seen this year!

My local councillor will be bringing up the ban on bees on allotments at the next meeting.

Our MP has been tweeting how important it is to support and encourage bee-keeping ?

[Gadget]

We are lucky, we have bees being kept on our allotments

[Madasafish]

All the beekeepers I have met locally comment on the large number of bumble bees we have seen. More than last year.

As far as honey bees are concerned, national statistics suggest winter losses of 35 to 50% in honey bee colonies kept in hives.. due to the prolonged cold winter and spring. It's hardly much better here in July.. 14C as I write and raining a little..

We are promised a heat wave in July - I do hope so as teh past two years have been a wash out...