Malvern Hills District Council (MHDC) is set to launch an exciting new project to help local schools support B-Lines and local bug corridors.
Working in partnership with Buglife, the ‘Bee Together’ project will be launched at Great Malvern Primary School this month, engaging with Reception pupils and the school’s Eco-Council.
Buglife is the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates (species without a backbone) with the aim of halting their extinction by achieving sustainable populations.
MHDC is providing £2,500 in Destination Zero funding, which will be available for up to five schools in this first year of the Bee Together programme to help them do more to support insect life.
Each school will be able to access some funds to deliver bug hotels, well-bean beds and seed bombs helping develop greater understanding of these species amongst pupils.
The project will raise awareness of B-Lines, which are an imaginative solution to the problem of the loss of flowers and pollinators.
They are a series of ‘insect pathways’ running through the countrysideand towns, along which Buglife are restoring and creating a series of wildflower-rich habitat steppingstones.
They link existing wildlife areas together, creating a network, that will weave across the British landscape. This will provide large areas of brand-new habitat benefiting bees and butterflies– but also a host of other wildlife.
The project fits in with the Destination Zero Plan, specifically priority seven which aims to use tree planting, pollinator sites, wetlands, wildflower meadows and other natural measures to capture and store carbon.
Kaitlyn Elverson, Community Engagement Officer for Buglife said: “We are delighted to be involved in this new programme promoting the importance of pollinators and other invertebrates in the Malvern area. We hope that Great Malvern Primary School is the first of many Malvern schools, organisations and communities wanting to get involved with B-Lines work. We’ve been working hard to promote our B-Lines projects across the UK and it’s exciting to take the first steps to bolster our insect highways with new partners across Worcestershire.”
Nikki Selby, Headteacher at Great Malvern Primary School, said: “I hope our involvement in Bee Together will help to show that when it comes to our bug life, even the smallest individual actions can make a difference. By helping to link our B-Lines together through green spaces in schools, our pupils are pleased to learn more about bees and bugs and to support insect-friendly corridors and safe spaces where pollinators can find food, shelter and rest.”
Cllr Beverley Nielsen, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services at Malvern Hills District Council, said: “As Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services, I am so pleased to be launching this new initiative. I am extremely passionate about helping schools and students to learn more about our local bug life and how we can all help. I want to thank Nikki Selby, Headteacher at Great Malvern Primary School, who has responded so positively to the Bee Together programme. As well as Katlyn Elverson, from Buglife, and Alastair Pounder, Biodiversity Officer at MHDC, for their support”.
Pictured: Alastair Pounder, Biodiversity Officer at MHDC, Kaitlyn Elverson, Engagement Officer at Buglife, Nikki Selby, Headteacher Great Malvern Primary School and Cllr Beverley Nielsen, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services at MHDC, at Great Malvern Primary School.
