Gardens cover an extensive area across the Channel Islands. Through the Pollinator Project we want to see these spaces transformed into a massive network of garden nature reserves.
Our vision is that gardens should be places where humans and wildlife can thrive together in harmony, and where people of all ages can connect with the natural world.
Bumblebee Bombus terrestris terrestris.© Jon Rault
But we can’t realise this vision without your help. We need people in every parish to get involved by taking small actions on their patch. No matter how small or large your space, and regardless of whether you live in a town or the countryside, you can make a genuine contribution to biodiversity conservation by gardening in a wildlife-friendly way.
The personal benefits of getting involved are enormous. Regardless of whether you want your garden to be a tranquil sanctuary from the busy world, or a hardworking edible garden producing an abundance of vegetables and fruits, there is a glorious, flower-filled pollinator garden waiting for you.
Here are some simple actions you can take at home to help our precious pollinators:
- Provide flowers rich in pollen and nectar. Grow a diverse range of colourful, vibrant flowering plants, shrubs and trees rich in the pollen and nectar that pollinators need throughout the year. Plan your garden so that pollinator-friendly plants come in to bloom in different seasons. Even if you don’t have a garden you can get involved – window boxes or pots of plants will also help pollinators too.
- Consider transforming an area in to a wildflower meadow by sowing a native wildflower meadow seed mix.
- Let it bee. If you have a lawn, consider allowing some areas to grow wild, cut your grass less often, and be sure to remove any cuttings. Allow flowers to grow in your lawn, too. ‘Weeds’ like clovers, trefoils and buttercups, are much loved by pollinators and they add a splash of colour and life to what is otherwise a green desert. Let climbers such as ivy grow along walls and fences. They provide shelter and resources for a wide range of invertebrates including holly blue butterflies and ivy bees.
- Protect and create pollinator nesting sites. Avoid disturbing nesting and hibernating insects in grass margins, bare soil, hedgerows, trees, dead wood and walls. Consider putting up a bee hotel and creating a hoverfly lagoon.
- Avoid using chemical pesticides and herbicides that are harmful to pollinators and other invertebrates.
- Spread the word by asking your neighbours, family members and friends to get involved.
See also:
Plants for Pollinators
How to Build a 5-Star Bee n’ Bee for Solitary Bees
Bug Hotels
