Monthly Archives: July 2016

Dorset Council Pollinator Action Plan

Dorset has become the latest council to take steps to help Britain’s bees to thrive.  At its Cabinet meeting in June Dorset County Council agreed to adopt a pollinator action plan.

Crucially its plan includes banning bee-harming neonicotinoid pesticides wherever it can.

Dorset’s plan proposes other bee-friendly actions. The cutting of hedges and grass verges will be changed to offer more food and shelter for bees. And native wildflowers, trees and shrubs will become more widespread in planting schemes.

https://news.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/2016/06/30/dorset-agrees-action-plan-for-pollinators/

Polli-Nation survey

Polli:Nation is a UK wide initiative supporting pupils from 260 schools to turn their school grounds and other local walk-to spaces into pollinator friendly habitats. To do this schools are encouraged to:

  •  Survey their patch using the new OPAL Polli:Nation survey (available May 2016)
  •  Make improvements for pollinators on their patch
  •  See how well it has worked using the OPAL survey to see the   impact the improvements have had.

This cross-curricula secondary and primary school project will give pupils direct hands-on experiences; from creating vertical green walls and night-blooming flower beds to lobbying to change school maintenance regimes and debating pesticide use. Pupils will learn about the role pollinating insects play in eco system services and be able to contextualise this in the choices and actions they take.

Alongside creating a network of knowledgeable and enthused young activists, the ambition of this programme is to utilise school grounds to form local green corridors and ‘stepping stones’, enabling species to move between core areas thereby contributing to the overall aim of the project by increasing numbers and sightings of pollinating insects in the UK.

http://www.polli-nation.co.uk/