Articles
Bees and other pollinators are disappearing from our countryside because of a lack of wildflower-rich habitats. Credit Clare Lemon.
New B-Lines to put the buzz back into Cornwall
An ambitious new plan for helping our bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other pollinating insects is being launched today by Buglife, the University of Exeter and Cornwall Council.
Cornwall B-Lines will create rivers of wildflowers across the countryside connecting the county’s best wildlife sites from coast to coast, and from our towns to the countryside.
Buglife, the University of Exeter and Cornwall Council have worked with partners to map out a network of potential wildflower habitat - B-Lines, and are now inviting farmers, landowners and the public to get involved in creating new pollinator habitat, and practically restoring wildflower-rich areas.
Bees and other pollinators are disappearing from our countryside because of a lack of wildflower-rich habitats. Three million hectares, 97%, of the UK's wildflower-rich grasslands have been lost since the 1930s. Creating B-Lines will help wildlife move across our countryside, saving threatened species and making sure that there are plenty of pollinators out there to help us grow crops and pollinate wildflowers.
Andrew Whitehouse from Buglife said: “Our pollinating insects are in trouble. In recent years it has become apparent that pollinator populations are fragile and if not cared for they can become damaged, depleted and cease to function. But all is not lost. We can fix this! We have an opportunity to turn the tide, by putting wildflowers back into our Cornish countryside and towns, by creating B-Lines, we can put the buzz back into our countryside.
“With the B-Lines map we have an opportunity to make a big difference for wildlife. If you have land which you are interested in restoring to wildflower-rich grassland, or if you would like to get involved in other ways, please get in touch – we'd love to hear from you.”
Grace Twiston-Davies from the University of Exeter said: “To help pollinators thrive across our landscapes it is essential that scientists, government, charities, farmers, businesses and the public all work together to target flower-rich habitat creation. As a scientist, partnering with Buglife to create the B-lines for Cornwall has been an important step towards making sure our research on pollinators can benefit Cornwall’s natural environment.”
Dr Helen Fearnley from Cornwall Council said: “We are really pleased that we have been able to support the creation of the B-Lines map for Cornwall. As part of our Making Space for Nature in Cornish Towns project, we will be introducing pollinator friendly landscapes in four areas identified on the map over the next three years.”
Date: 24 October 2019