A call for residents to help increase biodiversity by creating new wildflower meadows and planted green spaces in their neighbourhoods has been made by Bath & North East Somerset Council.
The council is expanding its successful Let’s Get Buzzing campaign with a new Neighbourhood Nature Area project, giving residents the chance to brighten up verges and open spaces in their streets with wildflowers or bulbs.
The scheme will help the council meet its target of improving at least 30% of its parks and green spaces for wildlife by 2030, supporting its climate and ecological emergency goals.
The Neighbourhood Nature Area project aims to add extra interest and ecological value to small areas of land currently managed by the council. Residents can request to improve an area for their neighbourhood by entering into a simple, free, licence agreement.
In Bath, residents will be invited to help create a new meadow in front of the Royal Crescent in Royal Victoria Park and at Brickfields and Alice Park in Bath. Ward councillors in Twerton will also be leading volunteers to help plant spring bulbs on road verges across Twerton and Whiteway.
The expansion of Let’s Get Buzzing coincides with the Bath and North East Somerset Climate and Biodiversity Festival running until September 26. The festival is a programme of face-to-face and online events enabling people to learn from and inspire each other on restoring nature and reducing carbon emissions.
Councillor Jess David, cabinet assistant for Neighbourhood Services, said: “This is your opportunity to brighten up the verge outside your house with wildflowers, or plant up a corner of the open space at the end of your road. We’ve been working hard to create new wildlife habitats in parks through Let’s Get Buzzing and now we are asking for you to get involved in expanding the campaign. It’s going to help us meet our target to make at least 30% of our green spaces better for wildlife by 2030.
“We’re committed to addressing the climate and ecological emergencies but we need collective action. There are hundreds of hectares of verges and small open spaces in urban areas across the district and although we’re slowly improving them, if you’re willing to help we’d love to hear from you.”
More information about the Neighbourhood Nature Area project, including the criteria for suitable areas and types of plants and how residents can obtain a licence, can be found here
People can book tickets for the council’s Climate & Biodiversity Festival at https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/climate-biodiversity-festival-events
To find out more about events in parks, look out for signs on site or visit the parks webpage
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