New Lancaster wildflower corridors will benefit bees

Wildflower corridors are being created across the Lancaster district to benefit bees and other pollinating insects.
Wildflowers near the Quernmore Road entrance to Williamson Park, Lancaster.Wildflowers near the Quernmore Road entrance to Williamson Park, Lancaster.
Wildflowers near the Quernmore Road entrance to Williamson Park, Lancaster.

Lancaster City Council has been working with Community Pollinator Patches, a volunteer group which encourages native wildflowers to thrive through good grassland management.

A third of British wild bees - which pollinate food crops and other plants - are in decline, according to a recent scientific study.

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The council has also received advice from the Lancashire Wildlife Trust on some of its sites.

Coun Dave Brookes, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, said: “Pollinators such as bees and butterflies are a vital part of our ecosystem and are responsible for pollinating the crops that provide the food we eat.

“Worryingly they are in decline and initiatives like this are an important way of increasing biodiversity both in urban and rural areas, with the very welcome side effect that they are lovely to look at.”

The city council is also committed to making further improvements to increase biodiversity and will be shortly conducting a grassland management strategy to identify more areas for native wild flowers to thrive.

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The aim has been to encourage a wide variety of native wildflowers and grasses to attract insects, bees and butterflies to sites through better grassland management.

Some sites have also been planted with native mixes to create pollinator habitat.

The scheme has seen the creation of wildflower areas in Quernmore Road outside Williamson Park and improved grass verge management on Wyresdale Road, along with sites in Carnforth.

The scheme is benefiting wildlife, protecting important local native seed banks and helping to reduce maintenance costs due to a reduction in grass-cutting.