City centre abuzz as new rooftop bee garden helps beleaguered insects
A NEW rooftop bee garden in the heart of Birmingham’s business district is creating something of a buzz...
The Colmore Bee Garden has been installed on the rooftop meadow at 2 Colmore Square by Colmore Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with Urban Buzz, a project at Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust.
The garden consists of three hexagonal honeycomb planters containing plants that offer a diverse range of pollen and nectar throughout the season.
Bees are vitally important in the ecosystem, and bee gardens in cities provide essential foraging opportunities for hungry pollinators.
Scientists have been concerned by a decline in bee numbers in recent years, which could eventually have a devastating impact on crops.
In urban environments bees have few opportunities to feed, though many species need to feed every 40 minutes to survive.
Urban Buzz is a new project using innovative techniques to create eight ‘Buzzing Cities’ in England and Wales, transforming mown and unused urban sites into 200 hectares of vibrant habitat for pollinating insects.
It is expected a wide variety of bees will benefit from the Colmore Bee Garden, from bumblebees in March through to solitary bees in late spring and honeybees on their journey through the city centre.
Henry Tonks, strategic adviser for Colmore BID, said: “We’re keen for businesses to participate in the bee garden project as it grows.
“The BID has also started to investigate a range of urban greening initiatives and is encouraging Districtbased businesses to get involved.”